The Lone Wolf
by Dragonheart19
Summary: A broken sword sits on a shelf with only an old man to remember the Lone Wolf that wielded it. Rated M for later violence.
1. Prologue

**The Lone Wolf**

**Prologue: A Broken Sword**

**It was a dark and stormy… Jack: Ok, STOP RIGHT THERE! **

**Author: What do you want Jack?**

**Jack: You're seriously opening a story like THAT!**

**Author: Ok fine then. What's your idea for an intro genius?**

**Jack: Hmm… *whispers in author's ear***

**Author: Hmm not bad, but first things first: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto, **_**not me**_**. All respective characters of said series (excluding OC's) also belong to him. **

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><p>As the sun set on the horizon, an aging man stood on the balcony of his home looking over the village he had been protecting for the past 15 years as its leader. He turned back inside to pick up where he left off on every leader's greatest annoyance, paperwork. Personally, he would rather have been fishing or playing games with his beautiful wife and 12-year-old trouble making son. *CRASH* 'Speak of the devil,' he thought. 'One week until team placements and he's still a klutz.' "ARASHI! What did I tell you about running in the house!"<p>

The boy entered the room nervously rubbing the back of his head "Sorry tou-san," he said.

The man rubbed his forehead groaning. "Son, you've graduated from the academy. By legal standards you're an adult now. You're being placed with teammates that may have their lives depend on you one day. Could you _please_ be a bit more careful?"

Arashi nodded his head in response. "Okay so what did you knock over this time?" His son led him down the hall to a broken case holding a broken sword before seeing his father take the whole mess back to his office. He then double checked that every piece of the sword was there.

Arashi was rather confused by this and asked his father why he kept and old sword that seemed broken beyond repair.

The old man sat back in his chair recalling years gone by. He stared at the sword several minutes before finally answering, "This sword belonged to a man I once knew rather well. He was a hero, a monster, a pariah, a renegade, a lone wolf. In fact that last bit was what he was most well known as: 'The Lone Wolf.' Since we have a week before you get placed on your team, would you care to hear his story?"

Arashi nodded again, half-heatedly as he was half-expecting _another _boring history lesson like the ones the just finished hearing at the academy.

The father chuckled at his son's expression before beginning. "Normally, wolves are known for hunting in packs. They group together, coordinate their strikes and overwhelm their prey. But not _all_ wolves operate in such a manner. This wolf preferred hunting ALONE."

**~25 years ago~**

"Safe at last," Jack sighed in relief, having fled from yet _another_ town. "Man! Why does it seem trouble follows me _wherever_ I go? All I did was bump into the guy, and he went nuts on me."

**~mini flashback~**

*bumps into the guy*

"Hey! Watch where you're going!"

"Sorry about that sir, I didn't mean to bump into you," He said in an attempt to calm things down. Unfortunately for him this guy was in that violent, poor decision making state known as drunkenness.

"Sorry? SORRY! You made me break my sake bottle! SORRY AIN'T GONNA CUT IT PAL!"

"'Oh boy, here we go again.'Look sir, I'm just passing through and I don't want any trouble."

"Yeah well TOO BAD! GET HIM BOYS!" He looked around to find himself surrounded by a gang of thugs.

'Of _course_ the guy has a gang. Hmm, let's see. There's one of me and one, two, three, twenty of them… _not_ the best odds for me, so I guess I need to… LEG IT!' With that thought he knocked out the thug directly in front of him with a chop to the neck and ran as fast as his legs could carry him. As far as he knew he was no shinobi, but then again he had no idea if he had been one at one point as he was faster than most.

**~end mini flashback~**

"I just can't catch a break, can I?" he asked to the skies, not expecting any answer. 'And now it looks like a storm's coming. Just my luck…'

Jack was a loner. He was that way for as long as he could remember. Of course, most jinchuriki like himself were alone (save for the company kept by their tenants). However, he could not even remember who he was. He had no idea how he could move so quickly, jump so high, or fight. He had no memory, no family, no friends, no home, and nearly no hope. For years he had been wandering aimlessly, until he recently heard of a place where he could live and develop his abilities. So he left the last town behind and continued on his trek to this Konoha along the road, made muddy by the storm that had arrived.

He was Jack: a lone wolf, looking for a place to call home.

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><p><strong>Jack: YES! THAT'S HOW YOU DO AN INTRO!<strong>

**Author: I have to admit. That was better than what I first had in mind.**

**Jack: Dang straight.**

**Author: However, next time please remember something.**

**Jack: Oh yeah? What's that?**

**Author: I'M THE AUTHOR! YOU'RE THE CHARACTER! STOP DOING MY JOB OR ELSE!**

**Naruto: I'd listen to him if I were you.**

**Jack: And… why is that?**

**Naruto: Because he can make you something you would hate. For example: *whispers in Jack's ear***

**Jack: *eyes shoot WIDE open* Right… I'll keep it quiet then.**

Author: Some readers may wonder why I removed the story before. I'm not entirely sure why myself, but I know I wanted to do some editing to try improving the story. Hope returning readers like the changes.


	2. Chapter 1

**The Lone Wolf**

**Chapter 1: A Warm Reception**

**Author: I do not own Naruto. If I did the story would likely have turned out differently.**

**Naruto: Hey Dragon!**

**Author: What is it Naruto?**

**Naruto: What was up with that last chapter? If this is a NARUTO fanfic, why wasn't I in it before?**

**Author: You weren't in the last chapter because this fanfic is not only about you. The main reason for the prologue was to introduce readers to the OC that will play an important part in this fanfic.**

**Naruto: Oh ok. So…does that mean I'm in this chapter then?**

**Author: Oh yeah, you're in it. In fact, I think you'd better get going since your scene's coming up.**

**Naruto: AWESOME! What do I have to do!**

**Author: Start running. **

Jack had been on the road an additional two weeks following his encounter with the drunken gang leader when he finally reached his destination. 'So this is the Village Hidden in the Leaves eh? Somehow, I thought it would be bigger, but if I can train here and get a job without getting chased off again, then I can't really complain I guess. Who knows? Maybe, in time, I can get clues to my past working with these people.' With this thought, he made his approach to the gates of Konoha.

Izumo and Kotetsu were sitting at the village gates on guard duty yet again. "Of course I'm proud to do my duty, but this is just way too boring," whined Kotetsu. Izumo sighed and replied, "Look if nothing else, it means we have an easy paycheck this way. Besides, if we don't do our job and guard the gates, there's no telling _who_ could walk in here." No sooner had he finished speaking those words than a man with old tattered clothing came into view. "Get a load of this guy Izumo. What do you suppose happened to him?" "I don't know Kotetsu, but if he wants entrance, I suppose we'll find out soon. Halt! State your name and business in the Hidden Leaf," he called out to the man. The man had messy auburn hair, an old, worn-out hooded coat that had holes and cuts about it, and pants that were in roughly the same condition. After a brief look around, the man turned to the two chunin and answered, "My name is Jack, and I wish to arrange a meeting with your Hokage."

The two chunin appeared to have the same thought in mind; '_This_ guy wants to meet the Hokage? I can't see many _shop _owners letting him set foot in their stores much less him seeing the Hokage in his office.'

Seeing the dubious looks on their faces, Jack sighed, looked down, and said, "Is the appearance of a man that has been on the road for as long as he can remember really so repulsive to you?"

Fully aware they had been caught acting unprofessionally, Izumo nervously replied, "Of course not. You may arrange your meeting with the Hokage with his secretary in the lobby of the Hokage Tower over there. However, I would recommend you clean yourself up once you have the chance."

"Thank you," Jack said walking past them before adding, "But in the future, _I _would recommend that you learn to control facial expressions which give away the fact that you are lying to people about what you really think."

As he looked up, Jack saw it would be evening soon, so he decided it would be wiser to wait until the next day to set up his appointment and use what little funds he had to make himself marginally more presentable.

**~Elsewhere in Konoha~**

It seemed the start of a calm, quiet evening until a number of villagers spotted a young, orange-clad boy on his way home. "There's the demon!" a villager shouted. "Let's finish what the fourth started!" another joined in. Within seconds the poor youth found himself running for dear life.

"JEEZ! WHAT THE HECK DID I DO THIS TIME!" screamed the boy as he ran from the mob intent on beating the living daylights out of him. He rounded a corner thinking 'Okay all I gotta do is find a place to hide and hope no one sees-OOF!'

'Uh oh, I've bumped into someone again. Hope he doesn't go psycho on m-what the? A kid? What's a kid running from so fast?' Jack was broken from his thoughts when he heard the shouts of the mob and realized the boy was in trouble. He quickly looked around and saw a building that looked abandoned. "Kid, get upstairs in there and find a place to hide quickly. I'll get them off your back." Not having time to question Jack's motives, the young man complied and ran for the building. Unfortunately the first few of the mob caught up and saw him right as he entered the building.

"There he is!" the first of them shouted. "Whoa! Wait a minute!" the villagers turned to see the travel-weary stranger. "What's your problem with this kid! What did he do to you?"

"This doesn't concern you stranger." Before he could do anything, Jack was knocked to the side. He then watched in horror as some of the more "nobly" dressed villagers shouted, "Fire style: fireball jutsu!" setting fire to the building.

'Great _now_ what? Well, I offered to help the kid, so just as well I follow through on that,' Jack thought as he quickly looked around. Seeing an old broken window on a window on the building's side he bolted for the alley below. As soon as he reached the alley, Jack jumped wall to wall until he burst through the window. "KID! KID WHERE ARE YOU!" He began frantically searching for the young boy when he found him on the floor, coughing from the smoke. 'This is bad. If I don't get this kid outta here soon, he'll die of smoke inhalation; _never mind_ the flames!' He wasted little time in picking up the child and running for the window he came in from. By that point the flames had spread to that floor and the ceiling above. Jack was almost to the window when a beam fell on him, knocking him to the ground. 'Why me?' he mentally groaned as he slipped into darkness.

**Author: Happy now Naruto?**

**Naruto: …**

**Author: What?**

**Naruto: Well at least I made an appearance this time around…**

**Jack: *wakes up* Owww…. What was that man! First I'm running from a drunken gang leader, now you knock me out with a beam in the middle of a burning building!**

**Author: Two things. First the intro was **_**your**_** idea, remember?**

**Jack: …Touché**

**Author: Second, consider this a warning of what happens the next time you wanna try doing my job.**

**Jack: …**

**Author: Oh and Jack?**

**Jack: Yeah?**

**Author: Boot to the head! *Jack gets knocked out again***

Read, review, and give me some feedback please. See you next time.


	3. Chapter 2

**The Lone Wolf**

**Chapter 2:**

**Naruto: Did you really have to knock out Jack again?**

**Author: Well he had to be unconscious anyways, right? ….. Anyway I think my last couple chapters were a bit too short.**

**Naruto: Oh ya think!**

**Author: …As such I've made this one a bit longer, but before we begin, Lee has something to say.**

**Lee: Naruto is the property of Misashi Kishimoto this fanfiction is merely an alternative version of the story written by Dragonheart19. So please support the official release. YOSH!**

Darkness; Jack had been alone so long that the dark did not disturb him as it would most. But this darkness was different. Most darkness would feel cold and empty. The darkness seemed to echo emotions of pain, sorrow, and bitterness. 'If these aren't my emotions, how am I feeling them? And where the heck am I?' Jack looked around and saw a dim blue light in the distance. As he approached what he perceived to be the source of the light, the then entire surrounding area was covered in the same dim blue illumination, revealing a vast cavern riddled with stalagmites, stalactites, chasms, and pools. He then heard a low growl coming from deeper within the cave. 'Okay. I am officially freaked out now. But seeing as I have no idea where I am or how I got here, I may as well check it out.'

After wandering the cave in the direction of the sound he came across an area of the caverns that seemed closed off. Stalagmites and stalactites were joined together in a fashion that made the formation look similar to a cage. As jack stand there trying to make sense of all of this, a deep grinding voice came from the other side. **"So back again after all these years eh pup?"**

"Who are you and where am- wait….WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'BACK!'"

**"Oh that's right. You've forgotten everything haven't you?"**

"You knew me from before I lost my memory?" he asked, praying that he would be able to get some answers.

**"Pup, I've known you since the day you were born, and I know the question that's on your mind. Sorry, but I can't tell you about your past."**

Jack felt his heart sink in disappointment. He had been wandering for over thirteen years, oblivious to his former life. Now this thing before him had knowledge of him but would not tell him anything. Seeing his disappointment, the entity continued, **"Your memories aren't exactly what one would call happy. The knowledge of these memories may destroy you if you are not ready."**

"Oh. So who are you anyway?"

The entity stepped into the light from behind its cage, revealing a massive wolf-like creature. Its fur was black with magnificent streaks of silver along its sides. **"I am the Yonbi no Ookami, better known as the Four-tailed Wolf, and I have been sealed within you for as long as you have been alive."**

"A tailed demon is sealed inside me?"

"**That is correct pup, but I think it's time for you to go. You have a visitor outside."**

"Go? Go where? All I see is a huge ca-." Jack never got to finish as he was pulled from that plain.

**~Meanwhile~**

An old man in white and red robes with a matching triangular hat walked through the halls of the leaf village hospital. "Is this the man's room?" he asked the doctor he was walking with who responded with a simple nod. "Very well, leave us please." The doctor did as instructed and left the elderly village leader to visit this man in the hospital. In most cases, foreigners were not so readily admitted into the village's hospital, but the Third Hokage made an exception for this man as his injuries were incurred while attempting to save a citizen of his village. The old man was not in there too long before he heard the patient groan, "Someone get the registration number of that paper bomb?"

The old man chuckled as he read the report of what knocked him out and his remark would not have been that far off from the truth. "So you're awake now?" the old man asked in a warm voice. "You've been out for nearly two days."

"Two days! Oh man. I still gotta set up my meeting with…." Jack paused as he recalled events from the other day. "WHERE'S THE KID! IS HE OKAY!"

"Calm down, Naruto is fine. A member of my Anbu saw you jump through that window from a distance. When he arrived to assist you he found you lying unconscious under a beam with Naruto in your arms."

"Oh good," he sighed in relief. "Why were they chasing him anyway? I asked the villagers when they caught up to him but no one answered me."

"I'm sorry but that is a secret in this village."

"Let me get this straight. I go out of my way to help this kid from these people, barge into a _burning building_, search for him through all that smoke, carry him until I get knocked out by a beam, and you're telling me I don't get to hear why I had to do that? Somehow I don't think that the kid had anything to do with what those people hated. I could sense a deep-seeded hatred in them, as though something happened to them years ago and they blame him for it."

The Hokage sighed, "I am sorry, I can't tell you." Realizing whatever the secret was, it was important, Jack relented. "I understand."

"So what brings you to Konoha?" Looking at the state he was in, Jack realized he was cleaned up, but still not that presentable. "Well sir, I was planning on meeting with the Hokage but while I was trying to find a place to clean myself up and make myself look more presentable that kid bumped into me."

"So you wanted to see the Hokage huh?" He chuckled slightly before asking, "So what did you want to see me about?"

Jack spent about a minute staring at the old man with one thought constantly repeating in his mind: 'I hate irony.' Finally breaking the silence he responded, "Well I was going to request to work here as a shinobi, but I've already caused a disturbance it seems." He chuckled to himself. 'Just my luck. I finally get here, and this first stupid stunt's gonna blow it for me _again_."

The old man once again chuckled warmly. "Disturbance? I don't recall a report of you causing any disturbance. The only report I got from my Anbu was that you saved a citizen of the Hidden Leaf." Slowly coming to the realization that the old man appreciated what he did, Jack spoke up.

"So I take it you like the kid then?"

"Well, Naruto is an orphan who sees me as his surrogate grandfather. I suppose it's only natural that I took a liking to him." Jack could sense there was more to it than that but thought it wiser to leave it there for the time being.

"At any rate," the Hokage continued, "if you wish to join as a leaf shinobi, there are some things I, as Hokage, must know about you." Understanding where the old man was coming from, Jack gave a slow nod. "From the records at the gates, I take it you are Jack?"

"Yes I am sir."

"Where are you from?"

"I honestly don't know sir."

At this, Hiruzen Sarutobi was somewhat confused. 'How does he not know where he's from?'

Jack explained, "I cannot remember much of my life. I think it's been somewhere around a decade now since I woke up, unaware of who I was, where I was from, what I did, who I knew, who knew me, or much of anything else. I spent much of that time on the road or in the wilderness just trying to survive. Most gear I used, I had to loot off the corpses of people I killed in self-defense."

Sarutobi, the Hokage, thought a moment before asking, "If you don't remember who you are, how do you know your name?"

"Jack is just a name I've made for myself since then." Anticipating the Hokage's next question, Jack continued, "As for my ability to kill, I am not sure how I can. All I know is I can move quickly and react on reflex. If I had to venture a guess, I would say I might have been shinobi and trained to the point that those kinds of things became second nature to me."

"Well that makes sense I suppose, but there is one more question I have. When you were brought here, your body had suffered numerous burns, but you somehow healed from them at a rate that astonished those tending to you. Do you know how that happened?"

Jack could not come up with an answer until he heard a voice inside his head, **"That you would have me to thank for pup." **

'Wolf? How am I hearing you?'

"**Well I **_**am**_** sealed inside you remember?"**

"Oh. So you healed me after I was burned?"

"**That is correct. In fact I was making the finishing touches during our little discussion in your mind earlier."**

"Jack? Are you alright?" The old man asked, as Jack had been nonresponsive for the past couple minutes. "Sorry about that sir." Jack looked around. "Do you think you could put up one of those silencing seals I've heard about?" Sarutobi then placed some seals in the room to soundproof the room and closed the blinds before Jack continued. "While I was unconscious I found out that I am a jinchuriki. According to my tenant, he was the one responsible for patching me up that fast."

Sarutobi's eyes widened as he took in this information. 'Most bijuu are sealed into their hosts when the hosts are still newborns.' "Did this demon of yours forget everything as well?"

"No, the wolf told me he remembered everything but then said he would't help me remember because the knowledge could destroy me."

The Hokage's eyes widened even more. 'So he contains the Yonbi no Ookami. A decade ago wasn't all that long after that incident, so his story holds out. Though I am somewhat surprised he's survived all this time.' Sarutobi heard reports of the atrocities committed by the four-tailed wolf and its jinchuriki. However, he also knew the difference between the prison and prisoner that most who would have told those tales did not. He had also heard an account of the story from a refugee that few others ever heard. With this knowledge, Sarutobi at least partly understood the wolf's reason for not reminding "Jack" of his past.

"Well that knowledge will come to you in time. I will arrange for an instructor to assist you in training and get you ready for work as a shinobi here, but there is one thing I should warn you."

"And what is that sir?"

"Never tell anyone else here of your connection with the wolf, and never draw on its power if you can avoid it. Jinchuriki are not the most popular crowd in the ninja world," Sarutobi explained.

"I understand. Thank you sir." With that, the Hokage instructed him to meet him at his office later to arrange for housing, left some money for food and supplies, and left the room.

**~Later on~**

Jack had gotten his things and left the hospital. He was once again wandering around the village when he realized, 'Good going Jack. You still don't know your way around here. Now it seems you're lost.' As he walked down the street, he noticed a young man hard at work training. The youth was pounding at a log repeatedly while counting off his punches 'Well _he_ certainly seems devoted to his training,' Jack thought as he continued on his way.

As he was walking the wolf broke the silence. **"That was a pretty risky move earlier pup."**

"What was? I'm just walking here."

**"I am referring to you telling the Hokage about me. Most people wouldn't know the difference between you and me. If people knew, many would think that you **_**were**_** me. Others see my kin and I as great weapons and our hosts as the hilts of said weapons. Since you now basically work for the old man you are risking being used as a weapon of war; a tool of destruction."**

"I had that thought myself for a moment there wolf, but I thought about it a moment."

**"And?"**

"And there was something about him. It's hard to describe. It was almost like I could see into his soul and sense he would have no ill will or intentions for me."

The wolf grinned inside his cage, knowing exactly what it was. **"It seems that a piece of your old skill has come to the surface, at least in part."**

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked in a confused tone.

**"Ah right, the amnesia thing again. This certainly is getting old fast eh pup? Anyway, I see little harm in telling you **_**this **_**tidbit. Most bijuu rely on raw power to accomplish their ends. I have powerful chakra like the rest of my kin but not **_**nearly**_** so much."**

Jack attempting to understand what he was hearing asked, "So you're the weakest of the lot then?"

The wolf's tone suddenly turned sour at that **"INSLOENT VERMIN! I MAY NOT HAVE THE CHAKRA RESERVES MY KIN HAVE, BUT DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE THAT I'M INFERIOR TO THEM!" **Realizing that Jack was simply trying to understand, the wolf calmed himself down. **"Sorry, I just get steamed about that. In terms of raw power yes they are stronger, but I am still arguably one of the most **_**dangerous**_** of the lot."**

"I see, so if they are stronger with the direct approach, I take it your power lies more in subtlety and skill?"

**"It seems you've still retained a bit of your wit as well," **the wolf chuckled, **"That's right pup. My power lies more in other areas. For one my tactical mind is second to none among my kin. ** **Furthermore, my senses are all quite sharp, including a sixth sense that allows me to sense the feelings and intentions of others. That one though, I have to focus a bit more to use, so it is possible for others to get past it if I let my guard down. Combining these, I am a precision hunter without peer among the bijuu."**

"And I take it that I inherited these powers from you as your host?"

"**Partially, but much of your actual skill you earned yourself and will have to relearn. What skill and power you have now could barely be considered a shadow of your potential."**

"Then I guess I'll just need to work on that once I get started." He responded, ending the conversation.

Before very long Jack caught whiff of a delicious smelling aroma. Seeing that he still had time before meeting with the Third again, he decided to check this place out for a bite to eat. He soon came to a small ramen stand called Ichiraku. When Jack stepped in, he was greeted by a jovial old gentleman. "Ah, welcome. What can I get for you?" Jack looked at the man briefly before asking, "May I have a bowl of beef ramen please?" The old man smiled as he got to work cooking.

Jack sat there as he waited for his afternoon meal when he heard a voice so loud that he may as well have been in a car wreck by how hard it hit him. "HEY OLD MAN! I WANT A MISO RAMEN WITH EXTRA PORK!" The young man was promptly smacked over the head by a ladle. "Oww….What'd you do THAT for Ayame-neechan?"

The gentleman's assistant buried her face in her left and asked, "Naruto, how many times do I have to tell you? My father is growing old not _deaf_." Naruto chuckled while nervously scratching the back of his head. "Sorry about that old man Ichiraku." He then sat down and waited for his meal.

Shortly afterwards, Naruto and Jack had been served their ramen and had started to dig in. Jack then got another look at the kid sitting to his right and grinned. "I'm glad to see you made it out alright kid."

Naruto looked over with food still in his mouth. "Hmm? YOU!" He jumped from his seat pointing accusingly at Jack. "YOU'RE THE ONE THAT SENT ME IN THAT BUILDING ONLY TO LET THOSE VILLAGERS TRY TO BURN ME ALIVE IN THERE!"

The stand owner's grin promptly changed to a scowl. Jack, realizing why Naruto would say that and that the shop owner wasn't happy at him over the accusation, explain, "Please relax kid, I was only trying to help."

"Help? HELP! Far as I can tell, all you were doing was trying to _help_ them cook me!" He spat.

It was then Jack's turn to put on a stern look as he looked Naruto dead in the eye. "And who went in after you? Who found you on the ground coughing from smoke inhalation? Who attempted to carry you out only to be knocked out by a falling beam?"

For once, Naruto was speechless. People who did not try to maim or kill him usually just shunned him and left him alone. No one really cared about him. Well there was the old man Hokage, but he was usually too busy to be there for him. "You… did that for me? Why?" He asked. He could not believe someone had gone out of their way to help him even if it meant they got hurt.

"As I said my intention was simply to help you out, 'cause I figured that you didn't deserve what they had in store. When those people set fire to the building I went in after you 'cause I offered to help you, and I hate going back on my word." Naruto looked at Jack in awe; this man risked his life for little more reason than keeping to his word. "Look kid I don't know why they couldn't stand you but you seem an okay kid to me. So how about we start over? I'm Jack," he said extending his hand.

At this point Naruto was sure he was dreaming. First this guy risked his own hide to save his, then put up with his baseless accusing rant, and now offered his hand in a friendly gesture in spite of all that! He dumbly accepted Jack hand responding, "N-naruto."

"Well it's nice to meet you Naruto." Jack looked up at the clock. "Well I'd love to stick around but I better get to the Hokage tower. How much for the food sir?"

"Consider this meal on the house."

"Pardon?"

"You saved my best customer's life. It's the least I can do to say thanks." Teuchi Ichiraku smiled. 'Besides you were dead on when you said Naruto doesn't deserve they way he's been treated. He needs friends or one day he may cave and become the kind of monster those fools make him out to be,' the man thought.

"Well thank you for the food. You have a good day sir. You too Naruto," Jack said as he left the shop.

**~Time skip: 1 hour~**

'Okay I have the keys to my apartment. I have the address in hand. And once again I have _no_ idea where I am!' Jack sighed in disbelief at how easily he got lost. 'Hey wolf was my sense of direction always this bad?'

**"No your sense of direction is fine like it always was pup. You just can't use a map to save your life. Guess that's one more thing we'll need to work on"**

Jack continued down the street thinking, 'Well _this_ looks familiar. Wait a minute. I'm sure I was here a couple hours ago. I wonder if…. nah not likely. That kid's probably gone home by now. As he approached the training area for the second time that day he saw the same young man still hard at work. This time he was jumping rope, and this time his count was nearing fifteen hundred. 'Okay I take back what I said earlier. This kid's not devoted. He's obsessed.' Jack looked on wondering what was driving this young man to push himself so hard but was broken from his thoughts when the boy tripped and fell over head first into the log he had been punching earlier.

Jack then ran to the kid to make sure he was alright "Kid! You okay?"

"Yes I am fine," replied the boy as he got back up on his feet ready to get back to it.

"Whoa sit down kid. Far as I can tell, you've been at this all day."

The boy sat down and looked up at Jack revealing his large round eyes and abnormally thick eyebrows. "Nearly all of my classmates and even some of my senseis at the academy tell me I am wasting my time and should just give up at being a ninja."

Jack was not happy upon hearing this. One thing no teacher had any business doing was telling a student that he could never hope to achieve his dreams. "You truly wish to work as a shinobi?" The youth nodded. "Why do they say you should give up?"

"From what I understand, I was born with an abnormal chakra network. As such I cannot perform ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind. My peers claim that I cannot become a good shinobi without the use of at least basic ninjutsu."

Jack thought, 'No wonder this kid's so obsessed with his training. He's trying to defy what everyone tells him, but he doesn't seem to be that confident in himself. Hmmm. AH! I know how to fix that.' "So you can't pull fancy tricks or play mind games with people. Big deal!" The boy looked up in shock. At the academy he was surrounded by people that were of the mindset that to succeed in the ninja world, one must be able to use either ninjutsu or genjutsu in some form. Yet this man was making light of the problem that had been plaguing him for months.

"This 'handicap' of yours could actually prove a pretty good weapon. One of the deadliest mistakes an enemy can make is to underestimate his opponent. If you could make yourself a professional hand to hand fighter, it may be possible to use their mistake of underestimating you to your advantage. Oh and another thing, I'm getting ready for training myself, but I know that ninjutsu and genjutsu take time to set up before use. Taijutsu moves as fast as you do. Ninjutsu and genjutsu can burn up a lot of your chakra, leaving you weak. As long as you have enough stamina and endurance, it is possible to use taijutsu for quite a while before getting worn out."

"Who are you sir," the young man asked.

"The name's Jack. I'm a new arrival here, and I'm also planning on learning the ways of the shinobi. Seems you have something holding you back in your learning, but instead of thinking of it as a handicap, consider it an opportunity to surprise people and grow stronger. Anyway, what's _your_ name kid?"

"I am Rock Lee and I will become a splendid ninja regardless of what others may say!" He declared as he pumped his fist.

"Well Lee, with that kind of determination I think you'll do just that and then some. But if I may, I'd suggest two things you should remember, because they should help you grow stronger."

"And what might that be Jack-san?" Lee asked, eager for advice that would help him in his training.

"First, I recommend you stop listening to those people who tell you that you should give up. You don't even need to prove yourself to them. The only one you have _anything_ to prove to is yourself. Second, those workouts of yours help build up muscle and endurance, but between training exercises allow yourself some time to rest so your body can recover faster and make you even stronger."

"Thank you for the advice Jack-san," Lee said shaking Jack's hand, "How may I return the favor?"

"Well first just don't forget what I told you."

"RIGHT!" Jack chuckled at Lee's enthusiasm before nervously scratching his head as Naruto had before.

"Secondly, could you help me find this address? I'm a bit lost."

**~Timeskip: half an hour later, Jack's apartment~**

"Ugh! What a day!" Jack groaned as he lay down on his bed. He didn't have the chance to buy any sheets or pillows, but he didn't care. An uncovered mattress was certainly more comfortable that the ground, trees, and rocks he used to sleep on. His thoughts then turned to the people he met that day and the friends he made. 'Not a bad day though. Not bad at all,' He thought as he closed his eyes and sleep claimed him.

**Naruto: A **_**bit**_** longer? This one was three times longer than the last chapter.**

**Jack: Well we had a lot of ground to cover this chapter right?**

**Lee: YOSH! The author was most youthful in his efforts to bring this chapter to completion!**

***everyone else sweatdrops***

**Author: Okay…. Lee?**

**Lee: Yes Dragonheart19?**

**Author: the next time I hear 'flames' or 'youth' in this portion I **_**will **_**give you a boot to the head or worse.**

**Naruto and Jack: DO IT! DO IT! DO IT DO IT!**

**Lee: THAT IS A MOST UNYOUTHFUL- *knockout by boot to the head***

I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I do in sharing this story. Please read and review. Please give details on what you liked or what I should work on.


	4. Chapter 3

**The Lone Wolf **

**Chapter 3**

**Author: *looks around* Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I don't own it so enjoy the chap-**

**Naruto: HEY DRAGON!**

**Author: *jumps* Would you stop that!**

**Jack: I think the author is trying to get on with this. Oh and Naruto?**

**Naruto: Yeah?**

**Jack: *steals Naruto's ramen and runs***

**Naruto: HEY! GIMME BACK MY RAMEN!**

A lot can change in two years. Then again, one's world can change within a single instant. All it takes is a one event to alter the course of events for better or for worse. Two years had now passed since Jack woke up in that hospital bed after saving Naruto. Two years since he found a place to call home. Two years since he learned, or rather relearned, of his existence as a jinchuriki. Two years since he found friends in the Third Hokage, Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku, Rock Lee, and Naruto.

However some things never seem to change. He always found himself looking over his shoulder, as though expecting to find an enemy that wasn't there. He'd made some friends, but at the same time he would still feel so alienated from everyone. He still didn't recall much of who he once was, but every time he saw the four-tailed wolf in my mindscape, the cold empty emotions create a sense of déjà vu. His first time there Jack had no idea why he felt those, but it seemed those emotions there could have been faint echoes of the past; possibly left behind by his own subconscious.

By this point Jack was a jonin in the hidden leaf; an elite shinobi capable of handling some of the more dangerous assignments on his own. Taking Jack's advice to heart, Lee had redoubled his efforts in becoming a splendid shinobi. He focused on his studies and put what he learned to good use in the sparring ring. His efforts eventually earned him the attention of the village's resident taijutsu specialist Maito Gai. With Gai as his mentor, Lee was finishing his final year at the academy and hoping to be placed on a genin team after graduating.

However, Naruto still seemed unable to catch a break. He was nearly three years through the ninja academy and faring poorly. While he attempted to do well, he encountered a number of problems. Most classes were the same boring lecture format, which he had a very difficult time paying attention to. Even though he was safe from the attacks of the villagers at the academy, a number of his instructors held the same unspoken grudge against him. They would look for excuses to give him poor marks, in the hopes of preventing him from being a ninja or forcing him to give up on being a ninja.

Most of his classmates were the heirs of their respective shinobi clans and therefore had a good deal of outside help. As an orphan, Naruto was left to try learning by his own efforts of trial and error. Jack came by sometimes to give advice in his training, which helped him quite a bit. However, that wasn't enough to help him pull his marks up at the academy.

From what Jack could tell from substituting for the teacher that day, Naruto's classmates were not the most helpful lot either. Sasuke Uchiha was considered a prodigy in his class. He was able to apply most of what was told in class to practical use. As an Uchiha, he was considered by many in the village to be elite. As the last loyal living Uchiha, he was shown a great deal of favoritism by the village council. What he wanted he usually got. As such he saw no reason to help a loser like Naruto when he could be growing stronger to achieve his ambitions.

A pink haired young lady named Sakura Haruno was the class' book smart genius; able to recall anything from any class without the need of taking notes. However, she was also a fan girl of Sasuke's and would sooner smack Naruto upside the head than give him so much as the time of day, let alone help him with class.

Kiba of the Inuzuka clan was similar to Naruto in the fact that he was a bit headstrong and his school work wasn't the best, but the similarities ended there. While not quite the prodigy that Sasuke was, Kiba did quite well using practical fighting styles. He and his canine partner, Akamaru, used his family's taijutsu form and were quite vicious in the sparring ring. However, as an Inuzuka, Kiba also inherited the dog-like tendency of seeking to be the top dog, so he had no time for a loser like Naruto either.

Ino of the Yamanaka clan was also good with her family jutsu but little else. She made decent grades but could not claim to be on Sakura's level for book smarts. While could easily use her family's mind transfer jutsu, a jutsu that allows the user to take over their target's mind thus using them like a puppet, her taijutsu was marked as barely passable. Like her old friend and rival Sakura, she was a fan girl of Sasuke's. She tried to fit in with the popular crowd, and as a result, wound up shunning Naruto like everyone else. She didn't really have anything against Naruto and even wished she wouldn't treat him that way. But to stay with the _in_ crowd she went along with it.

Chouji of the Akimichi clan was an average student. His upbringing allowed him to make decent marks in academics and practice, although his weight tended to slow him down. His father and clan leader Chouza wasn't the fastest jonin in the village either. Rather than using speed and precision, the Akimichi clan used their body mass to assist in slow but hard hitting jutsus. They were the tanks, the battering rams of Konoha's shinobi. Of course, their jutsu required them to maintain a fairly heavy body mass, so they naturally found a profound enjoyment in food. Chouji was no different. In fact the main reasons his academic scores weren't better, were that he was either snacking or wondering what was for dinner rather than paying attention. He didn't have much of a problem with Naruto, but the last time he hung out with Naruto, he was given a hard time by a lot of people; even some in his own family. As such Chouji was forced to keep his distance. He felt it was a shame because Naruto seemed like a decent guy in spite of his practical jokes.

Shikamaru Nara was the class sloth as it were. His marks were about as low as Naruto's, perhaps lower. He would often sleep in class or gaze at the clouds while outside. Most saw Shikamaru as a lazy oaf, but in reality, he just didn't like doing things unless he absolutely had to. The truth was that Shikamaru also took after his father. Anything that was unnecessarily tedious or annoying was labeled as "troublesome" or a "drag" by those two. However both were also tactical geniuses. If push came to shove either could think up a hundred or so solutions to a situation in a matter of minutes or even seconds and just as quickly determine the most favorable solution. Asuma Sarutobi, the Third's eldest son, tested Shikamaru's IQ through a series of puzzles and games. At the end of it all, he was astonished to find that Shikamaru had an IQ of over 200. Like his best friend Chouji, Shikamaru thought that Naruto was an okay guy. Only problem was that bunch of "troublesome" villagers giving him a hard time every time he so much as talked to the guy.

Shino Aburame was the stoic that often kept to himself. His family was known for being the logical bunch that often thought things through before coming to a decision. They seldom let their feelings influence their choices and almost _never_ showed their emotions to anyone. Like some others in his class he could not find sense in why the villagers would hate Naruto, but did not see much reason to stand up for him either.

Hinata of the Hyuuga clan was different from most of her classmates. She was the eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyuuga and heiress to one of the village's most powerful, prominent, and ancient clans. The Hyuugas were formal in the extreme. The family had an immutable caste system that was established at birth; either they were in the ruling main house or in the subservient branch house. Strength and skill were the highest virtues to them. But Hinata was not the average Hyuuga. She was kind-hearted, meek, mild, and preferred working things out to direct confrontation. A number of the branch members enjoyed her disposition as she always treated those around her with respect, but to numerous members of the main house, such characteristics were viewed as a sign of weakness and thought her younger sister Hanabi might make a better heiress.

Hinata was not one would call confident. She was shy and one would say she was plagued by self-doubt more than anything else. When Jack saw her, his sixth sense gave him the feeling that she would be capable of great things if only she would stop doubting herself. The day Jack subbed he dismissed class a few minutes early and went with Naruto to help advise his training again. Halfway through, he stopped watching Naruto saying he had something to go do real quick. A few minutes later, true to his expectations, he found Hinata watching Naruto from a distance. "You know if you want to train with him, all you gotta do is ask the kid," Jack said behind her while simultaneously causing her to nearly jump out of her skin. She composed herself, looked up, and responded, "B-b-but Jack-S-sensei, I d-don't think…"

"Relax Hinata. He needs just as much encouragement as you do. Hey Naruto!" He then called out to his young friend. "Get over here! There's someone I'd like you to train with for a while."

Naruto was soon where Jack and Hinata were "Oh hi Hinata," he greeted warmly.

"Okay, I'd like the two of you to work on your kunai and shuriken throwing. Each of you take a targeting board and gauge each other. If one of you needs help, I want the other to give advice on how to improve." The two academy students nodded and went to training. Jack couldn't help but smile at the way the encouraged one another. Seeing that they were doing fine, he allowed his thoughts to wander for a while. He thought to when he was being retrained in the ninja arts. 'A shame that senpai went and did that,' he thought, 'he would have loved to see this.'

**~flashback no jutsu: roughly two years ago~**

The Third was in his office battling the greatest enemy of any kage; past or present. It was not an invading army. It was not a treacherous ninja. It wasn't even annoying relatives. No, it was…..paperwork. No matter how much he did, there was _always_ more to do. While he was sitting there thinking about using a fire jutsu to incinerate the loathsome stack of papers, Jack entered the room. "You wanted to see me sir?"

"Ahh Jack. Perfect timing. I have a mentor arranged for you. He's fairly young but he should be more than able to assist you in familiarizing yourself with the ninja arts again. He will meet you at training ground seven in about one hour."

"Thank you sir," Jack responded as her turned to leave. He then stopped to ask, "Which way is that again?"

After about half an hour Jack made it to the training grounds, where he met a young man that seemed barely old enough to be a teenager who he assumed would be his senpai. He had black hair and onyx black eyes, but what caught Jack's attention was the symbol on the young man's shirt. He could swear he'd seen it before, but where from? Oh yeah. That symbol was on the clothing of the people that set fire to that building the other day. "I am Itachi Uchiha. The Third Hokage has commissioned me to act as your senpai Jack," he started in a calm monotone voice.

"I understand Itachi-senpai, but can I ask something?"

"What is it?"

"Is that symbol on your shirt your…" Jack was interrupted by Itachi who immediately knew what he was asking.

"Family's crest? Yes this is the Uchiha crest. Why do you ask?"

"I saw people wearing that crest burn a building down the day I got here," Jack answered, not wanting to involve Naruto in the discussion.

'I should have known it was my family that set that fire. At least I managed to get to Naruto and Jack before they were burned alive,' Itachi thought to himself. Normally when he was on assignment, Itachi would don Anbu gear and go by the codename "Weasel." He had been the Anbu that saw Jack Go into the burning building to save Naruto, and it was he that saved the two of them when Jack was knocked out.

As a member of Anbu, he was one of the youngest people to know the reason everyone hated Naruto and passed that loathing on to the next generation. Itachi however was wise enough to see the truth of Naruto's condition and saw the villager's hatred for him as utter foolishness. It especially irked him that members of his own family were some of Naruto's worst tormentors, but they got away with a slap on the wrist because of their position as Uchihas. 'Arrogant temes,' he thought. Itachi himself was the clan's great prodigy; the best of the best. However one thing he never spoke aloud was that he despised the arrogance of his clan. They thought that because of their family and the fact that an ancestor of theirs was one of the village's founders that they were the best and had a right to whatever they wanted.

"It is quite possible that members of my family started that fire. We are known for using fire jutsus. At any rate, I think we should first assess your current skill so that we know what we're working with."

"Okay fair deal," Jack responded. He then froze as he saw Itachi's eyes change. Each iris turned to a blood red and three black commas appeared around each of his pupils. For a few seconds the saw hellish visions. In one he saw a man in robes wearing a spiral mask. In another he saw a burning battlefield, but the flames were black. In a third he saw a scene of a scene of a town that had been utterly destroyed. The last thing he saw before blacking out was a spinning eye that did not look so different from the way Itachi's looked a moment ago.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"Huh? What happened?"

"You blacked out for a minute there."

"Sorry about that. I'm still a bit out of it from the other day I guess," Jack lied. He wasn't sure who he saw in that vision, but given that dojutsu, he figured it must have been an Uchiha. "Anyway I'm ready to get going."

Itachi then began testing him in various styles of combat and concluded that Jack was more comfortable with close range combat than mid or long range. He then spent the rest of that afternoon relearning how to climb up trees and walls by putting chakra in his feet to stick to them. The next day he took that chakra control training to the next level using the water-walking exercise, but by this point he was also regaining another ability of his. He soon discovered that his connection with the wolf allowed him to learn new tricks through trial and error, but in Jack's case; he was able to narrow down the ideal method of pulling something off with fewer and fewer tries as he went along. He mastered water-walking as well as doing so under pressure within a few hours. He then started work on mastering his element: wind. It would take most people at least half a year to master wind chakra manipulation, but Jack pulled it off in three weeks. He then spent the next couple months trying to master other elements and found he had partial affinities for the lightning and water elements as well.

The rest of his time with Itachi was spent learning various jutsu and fighting styles. Itachi taught Jack a few genjutsu including the alternate reality jutsu, which allowed the user to manipulate how the target saw things happening around him while still allowing him free motion. This in turn would make the target believe what he was seeing was really happening, so most would never know they were even under a genjutsu to try releasing it. Even if they did recognize the jutsu's influence, the level of the genjutsu made it quite difficult to break. However since he lacked sharingan eyes, the jutsu cost a great deal more chakra than it did for Itachi. Jack primarily used his wind chakra for the blades of wind jutsu, which turned his fists into deadly blades of piercing wind, or to give his existing weapons an extra sharp edge. For water and lightning, he preferred using the combination of the water dragon jutsu and a lightning style jutsu for the chance at electrocuting his target.

His ability with ninjutsu and genjutsu had grown impressive, but his greatest strengths lied in taijutsu and kenjutsu. Even with the benefit of his sharingan eyes, which allowed him to see Jack's next move almost before he made them, Itachi would have a hard time keeping up against Jack when he wielded a blade of nearly any kind. Jack was unpredictable as an opponent. One moment one his opponent would think he had him. Within an eye blink Jack could turn the tables, again thanks to his heightened intelligence from the wolf.

By the end of a half year, Itachi reported to the Third Hokage that Jack was not only ready for duty, but was at least jonin if not Anbu level in his skills. Jack then began taking on missions on his own and with other jonin. On his own time he would study history, geography, and various other things he could use to his advantage later on. Itachi went on to the prestigious position of Anbu captain. Everything seemed to be going fine; seemed being the operative word.

**~One year before present point of story~**

Itachi and Jack were sitting at a local restaurant eating some barbecue to catch up on how they were doing. "How long has it been since you got promoted senpai?"

Itachi smiled before answering, "You know you don't have to call me senpai anymore. I may be a captain of the Hokage's Anbu, but in still a jonin just like you. At any rate it's been about three months. I understand you've been making quite a name for _yourself._ I've been hearing whispers of some referring to you as the second coming of the White Fang."

"Okay first, you were once my mentor, so equal rank or not you're still are my senpai. Second, I've heard the same rumors. Quite frankly I think people should be more careful with the titles they throw around. I'm no Sakumo Hatake. Besides, the man's son is still around and I hear he's top notch himself."

"Kakashi? Yeah I suppose he is. Still you've been doing fairly well." They paid for their meal then walk outside down the street. As they walked, Itachi's face went somber indicating that there was something weighing heavily on his mind. "Hey Jack, can you answer me something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"You would go to any lengths to protect the ones you care about yes?"

"Well yeah," Jack promptly responded.

"And you would do the same to protect the village from any threat?"

"In a heartbeat."

"What would you do if one of those people you cared about _was_ that threat to the village?"

"Well I…" Jack stopped dead in his tracks. He was honestly not expecting a question like that. "I…I'm not sure. Guess I need to think that through before it becomes an issue huh senpai? Senpai?" Jack looked around but did not see his former mentor. A moment later, he was struck at a pressure point; knocking him out instantly.

"I am sorry," Itachi mumbled as he left Jack lying there by a tree as he left to perform his gruesome task.

**~The following day~**

"ITACHI-SENPAI DID WHAT!" Jack demanded, not believing his ears.

"I'm sorry, but I am afraid it's true Jack," replied Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"There _must_ be some mistake. Senpai is an honorable man. It makes no sense that he would kill his own family."

"I'm afraid there's no mistaking it. The manner in which the Uchiha clan was slaughtered matches Itachi's killing style. Also the only survivor, his younger brother, is an eyewitness to Itachi's actions." The Third explained.

"I see. Then I will take my leave for now Hokage-sama." Jack gave a half-bow before leaving the room. 'Itachi-senpai must have had a reason for doing this. It makes no sense that he would do this to "measure his ability." If that were the case, why didn't he fight me?' Jack then remembered Itachi's question, _"What would you do if one of those people you cared about _was_ that threat to the village?"_ 'Could senpai have been trying to tell me something there? If so, what was he telling me? At any rate I think I know the answer now senpai. You worked to ensure the safety of this village. If you come back to destroy that work and bring harm to this village, I will stop you.' Jack would not allow himself to be angry with Itachi until he found what his true motives were that night. But unless he had good reason otherwise, Jack would make the defense of those nearest him that were still in the village his top priority.

**~End flashback: return to present time~**

'Come to think of it I never did find out why senpai did that,' Jack thought.

"EARTH TO JAAAaacckkk!" Naruto shouted. Jack flinched at Naruto's volume. 'Did that kid swallow a megaphone at birth or what?'

"Sorry I was just doing a bit of reminiscing. How'd you two do?"

"Hinata fainted…."

Jack looked over at Hinata passed out on the ground. 'Oh you've gotta be kidding me…' "What happened?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "She hit a bull's-eye her first try and I gave her a hug telling her how great she did before she fainted."

Taking a moment to list the events in his head, Jack thought, 'Okay so she does well. He compliments her. He _hugs _her, and she passes ou-… Oh good… I went and picked the _one_ student in the class that's head-over-heels with this guy. And the worst part is, he's probably too thick even realize it. Hmm… seems to be getting a bit late. Once she wakes up I better get these two home.' Jack liked hanging with Naruto, but still considered him a bit of a knucklehead.

A few seconds later, Hinata came to. "W-what happened?"

Jack decided to preserve her self-esteem by saying, "Well from what I understand you did quite well throwing shuriken. Well done."

Hinata then responded, "Naruto did g-good as well."

"Nah you did better Hinata. But that's okay. I'll just need to train more and catch up," Naruto said with one of his famous grins.

'Maybe that's what she sees in the kid. He may not be the brightest bulb, but failure never stops him from trying. No matter what problem is facing him; he never backs down or gives up.' "Anyway let's get you two home. Both nodded and followed him as he walked them home.

**~Time skip: two hours later at Jack's apartment~**

Jack had taken Hinata home. He and Naruto then ate at Ichiraku's for dinner before walking Naruto home as well. Now Jack was at his place thinking of days to come. His friend Gai, who had been teaching him some additional tricks in taijutsu, told him he already had his team planned out for when they graduated. It was customary to wait until after the students had graduated, but Gai claimed he had no doubt that his future students would pass. Jack also was sure Lee would pass. Tenten seemed to be a decent candidate for a team member, but Neji Hyuuga seemed so confident in his own skill that Jack would've labeled it borderline arrogance. If this trio passed the academy's graduation exam, they would still need to pass the genin exam given by their jonin instructor. Jack wondered if they would pass Gai's test, but decided that was a concern for later. He then laid his head on the pillow and slept. A lot can change in two years, but at the end of the day, Jack was still a bit of a lone wolf with little to come home to.

**Author: Well that was fun. Jack what the heck happened to you!**

**Jack: *panting* Naruto caught up with me.**

**Naruto: Serves you right you ramen thief!**

**Author: Hmmm….AH! *throws cup ramen out the window***

**Naruto: I'LL SAVE YOU RAMEN-CHAN! *dives after it, lands in dumpster, hand emerges with ramen in hand***

**Jack: *confused* So… what's the moral here?**

**Author: *thinks* Ramen….It's what's for dinner.**

Hope you enjoyed! Please review so I know what you think!

And remember: Have yourself a great day. Life could be worse.


	5. Chapter 4

**The Lone Wolf Ch 4**

**I do not own Naruto. If I did, Naruto would've made Hokage ages ago! Enjoy**

The sun was just rising in the Leaf Village. Most were still sleeping in bed, but Jack was in a particularly quiet area of the town. Normally he enjoyed getting an extra hour or two of sleep, but he had a meeting with the village council that day. In all honesty, he hated going to those meetings, because a meeting like this had a very high chance of having someone say something to piss him off at _least_ once. However, when the Hokage summoned him to a meeting, he had to attend. This morning though he had woken up early to visit an old friend. He walked through the cemetery until he came to the headstone he was looking for. "It's been a while my friend." A single tear ran down his face as he looked at the inscription: "Maito Gai: a most youthful hero, rest in peace." He sat down thinking about the events leading to the tragedy of this man's death.

**~Flashback no Jutsu: 6 months ago~**

Gai stood over his beaten squad and tried in vain to hide his disappointment. "Every one of you… fails."

"BUT SENSEI I TRIED MY HARDEST JUST LIKE YOU SAID!" cried Lee.

"Lee you did better than I could have hoped, but the genin exam is a group test. One's failure means all failed. This team failed to act as a team so I'm sorry, but I can't pass you." Lee took heart knowing his role model had just praised him in spite of this failure, so he still had a chance later on.

"Tenten, you also did fairly well, but you made the mistake of attacking me alone. Had I been an actual enemy, you would have been an easy target once I made it past your traps because you weren't supported by your teammates." Tenten lowered her head in shame. She hadn't worked with the others because Neji had brushed her off and Lee simply weirded her out.

"Neji, you were the worst of the lot. Your skill in your family's taijutsu is notably impressive for your age, but you take so much confidence in that that you threw teamwork completely out the window. Normally arrogance like that means I should drop you from the program altogether, but since your squad mates performed at acceptable levels you will all be sent back to the academy for an additional year. I hope that next year you all remember to work together in whatever group you are assigned."

**~Later that evening~**

Jack had finished his missions for the day and was eager to find Gai to hear the results of the exam. He went to their normal training ground to find Lee and Gai sitting on a rock looking up at the stars. As he drew near he saw that Lee seemed a bit down. 'Oh no. His team failed Gai's test.' "Hi guys. What's up?" The pair turned to Jack and gave him a pair of smiles, but Jack knew they were just faking it to hide their disappointment. "So I take it the test didn't go so well?"

"They didn't act as a team so I had to fail them." Gai hung his head in shame. Gai was a taijutsu specialist. He was similar to Lee in several ways. First was that he preferred taijutsu over any form of jutsu. He had ninjutsu and genjutsu, but he seldom ever used them. Like Lee, he had black bowl-cut hair, unbelievably thick eyebrows, and ridiculously shiny teeth that glowed any time he grinned at someone. He also wore a green jumpsuit that more closely resembled tights and the standard green jonin vest. He was a work-out junkie who got his "fix" by doing insane exercises. Just the other day, he lost a rock-paper-scissors match to Kakashi Hatake and went two hundred laps around the village using only his hands. Jack thought it was a bit crazy but respected that when Gai set himself to a task, he did it to its completion and viewed failure as a chance to get stronger. Lee was fairly similar in that regard, so Gai found it particularly painful in failing him.

Jack understood Gai's reason for being upset, so he decided to speak up. "Well Lee can try again right?" They nodded. "Then use this time to train and learn from your mistakes like always."

"But Jack, I did what I could and Gai-sensei said I fail because of the others," Lee replied.

"Then next time, make sure you are there to back up your teammates, and make sure your squad works together. That way you'll be sure to pass. And if you need a hand with training, give me a call and I'll try my best to help out" Jack grinned and gave a thumbs-up like Gai and Lee would before saying, "That's a promise." Lee seemed to cheer up that both people he looked up to would be there for him.

Gai saw this and was glad that someone aside from himself believed in Lee. "YOSH! THE FLAMES OF JACK'S YOUTH BURN BRIGHTLY AS EVER!"

"HAI GAI-SENSEI! HE IS AN ISPIRATION TO YOUTHFUL FIGHTERS SUCH AS US!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

"LEE!"

"GAI-SENSEI!"

The two cried and embraced in a strong hug. That was odd enough, but then Jack saw a rocky beach with waves crashing against the rocks while a sun set slowly in the background. 'Wait a minute…it's already night. There's no beach for miles. And this is…is…quite possibly the most mentally scarring genjutsu I've ever seen!' He focused his chakra and attempted to dispel the genjutsu in vain. When it finally subsided, Jack composed himself and addressed his colleague. "Gai, the Hokage wishes for us to report tomorrow for a mission. It may be a fairly long one, so I suggest you get to bed soon for some proper rest. It would be most unyouthful for my friend to work with me on a mission while not properly rested." Jack then left before Gai and Lee could rant on the "flames of his youth" again. 'One of these days I'll need to find a way to beat that genjutsu.'

**~Three days later~**

Gai and Jack were on their way back from the mission. It wasn't too difficult for professionals like them. Find the crime boss that had been harassing a neighboring village, dispose of him, and return with his head. Jack had seal the head inside a storage scroll to keep it fresh and avoid leaving a bloody mess everywhere. Much to Jack's surprise, Gai requested to stop and rest a while. They sat on some nearby rocks just off the road under the shade of the trees. "Still sulking over not being able to pass Lee huh Gai?"

"Maybe I should've made an exception this time. I wanted him to pass. He deserved to pass. Tenten wasn't showing the best team skills but she could've learned given time. The only problem was Neji and-"

"And the fact that they couldn't work together," Jack interrupted "That fact could easily get them killed when on a dangerous assignment. The fact that they failed this time means at least one or two of the will perform better the next time. I wanted Lee to pass too, but I still know you made the right choice Gai. Who knows? Maybe next year his teammates will be hardworking shinobi like him."

Gai smiled at the thought that there was a chance Lee would be better off for this unhappy affair. They got back up to resume their trek back to the village when Jack stiffened. "What's wrong Jack?"

"We're not alone…" he motioned hand signs indicating there were two shinobi of unknown power just out of sight. "…SCATTER!" Moments later there was a crater where the two were standing with one of the two strangers standing in its center. The man's head was mostly concealed only revealing his earth-red eyes with pale green pupils and well tanned skin. The only clothing they could really see was a large robe that covered most of his body; a black robe decorated with red clouds.

"You're pretty quick. How did you know I was there?" asked the man in a deep, cracked voice.

"I never saw you. You were silent to the last moment. You even seem to have concealed your scent for the most part, but the main reason I knew you _and _your partner were here was that I could simply sense the two of you."

"So the little punk knew we were here. OI KAKUZU! Why did we even bother trying to sneak up if he'd know we were here anyway?" asked an emerging silver-haired man who was wearing the same robes and appeared to be armed with a three bladed scythe.

"Hidan shut your mouth before I rip it off again. Our group needs funds to operate, and the bounty on these two should do nicely."

"It's always money with you isn't it Kakuzu! Geez, you're such an atheist I just wanna kill you sometimes."

"This from the sadistic, masochistic, slaughter-loving, Jashin-praising teme Akatsuki paired me off with. I'd love to kill you as well."

"Well let's just get this over with then… Oi Kakuzu! Let me handle these two!"

"Oh no you don't Hidan. You take the green freak and I'll take the other. Besides, I can't wait _all _day for you to finish your dumb rituals."

"HEY! I hate how much time it takes too, but it's part of my religion to pray like that after killing."

Gai and Jack were looking at each other thinking 'Are these two jokers serious here?' they then each got into a fighting stance. "Gai, you might wanna-"

"Arm myself? Already done," Gai interrupted pulling out his heavy nun chucks. At the same time, Jack drew his sword, ready for the battle to come.

Seconds later, the foes clashed against each other. Gai rushed in on Hidan, intending to kill this assailant quickly. In like manner, Jack charged Kakuzu hoping to finish him in one shot. Each side exchanged blows for a few minutes. Gai saw an opening and got behind Hidan to break his neck. As Gai did so, Jack slipped through Kakuzu's defense and pierced his heart.

"Well that was fun. We should get going."

"Cowardly ninjas like them will never extinguish the flames of our youth!" Gai proclaimed while pumping his fist.

"Shut up you green freak! I'm gonna kill you for that." Jack and Gai turned around to see Hidan standing up while snapping his broken neck back into place. Jack was about to ready another attack when he was blind-sided by a kick to his side, courtesy of Kakuzu. Jack was sent flying through several trees; knocking the wind out of him and breaking several ribs. Gai attempted to assist Jack only to be slashed across the arm by Hidan, who proceeded to eat the blood that his scythe had drawn. Then all hell broke loose.

At the time, Jack could hardly move let alone fight. 'CAN'T YOU HEAL ME ANY FASTER WOLF!'

'**I'm going fast as I can pup! Some of those ribs came dangerously close to piercing a lung!'** It was little use. All Jack could do was act unconscious while he healed and pray Gai could hold them off. Gai wasn't fairing so well either. Even with three hidden gates opened (A/N: for those of you who don't know what those are, each gate opened means more strength and speed while doing more damage to the body), Gai could not bring his opponents down. He was just about to land a mean punch on Kakuzu when his right arm pulled back as a reflex to sudden immense pain. He too was kicked into a tree. Gai then looked up to see Hidan, his pale skin turned pure black with white skeletal drawings on him, stabbing himself in the arm where Gai was hurting.

"Hurts like hell doesn't it?" Hidan asked, driving a blade into his leg. Gai the screamed in pain as his left leg began to bleed. "What pain would you like to feel next? Here, here, here, or would you just prefer to end it?" he asked, pointing to various parts of his own body; eventually pointing at his own heart.

Jack saw Hidan raise his blade to end Gai's life with his sick voodoo style curse jutsu. Jack then realized, 'This guy's jutsu makes him a human voodoo doll. Any damage done to him is done to Gai, but if he didn't die from his neck being broken then…' At that moment Jack forgot his pain and bolted for Hidan to stop him with all the speed he could muster. He had almost closed the distance when Kakuzu's hand shot out and grabbed him by the throat. The only thing connecting Kakuzu's hand to his wrist now was a number of black tendrils. Jack could only watch in horror as Hidan pierced his own heart, which would prove to be the death blow for Gai.

Jack looked as the ecstasy in Hidan's eyes. He had injured himself to kill Jack's friend and loved it. Jack closed his eyes for a moment as tears flowed of their own volition. When his eyes opened they had changed. The white of his eyes were now black as the darkest night. Each iris was now dark blue as the unforgiving depths of the abysmal sea, and his once round pupils were replaced by slits. His canines had instantly grown to fangs and his nails to claws. Both Hidan and Kakuzu were blown back by the blast of chakra coming from the enraged jonin.

"Hidan we're leaving."

"But we can get him right now."

"We're not ready to start capturing his kind yet. Let's fall back for now," Kakuzu said in retreat.

"Geez, you're such a pain Kakuzu. Hey punk! Enjoy your pathetic life while you can! 'Cause we'll be back for you!" Hidan shouted to Jack before falling back himself.

Jack wanted to go after them but had more important matters to deal with. He rushed to Gai to find he was not yet dead. "Hold on Gai. I'll get you back to the village." He reached down to pick Gai up, but his hand was slapped away.

"Don't bother Jack. I know it's unyouthful of me to admit this, but I fear this is not something I'm going to make it through."

"DON'T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT!" Jack was about to continue when Gai raised his hand to motion him to stop.

"Jack, don't be so unyouthful. Not even the great medical nin Tsunade could heal this damage. *coughs blood* Jack, I need you to do me a favor." Jack leaned in to hear as Gai's normally boisterous voice was beginning to quiet.

"I will Gai, you have my word."

"I'm… counting on… you… Jack…" Jack saw the life leave Gai's eyes and closed his Gai's eyelids.

"Farewell, my friend." After an hour or so, Jack had healed to the point that he could carry Gai back to the village. He then set for the Hidden Leaf with a heavy load and a heavy heart.

**~Flashback no jutsu: release~**

"I'm sorry I couldn't do anything, but I will keep my promise."

"Jack-dono, it is nearly time for the meeting," said an Anbu that had been sent to find him.

"I'll be right there," he called out. He then turned to the grave once last time. "I'll see you around Gai."

**~The council room~**

When Jack entered, he found some familiar faces; some of which he liked, others not so much. He took his seat in the center asking, "What does the honorable council wish of me?" He hated the council as much as Naruto hated vegetables, but he swallowed his pride and went with it anyway.

Koharu, an elder serving on the council, opened by praising Jack's development as a leaf shinobi. Jack then thought, 'Now comes the "but you must to do this for us" speech.'

"However, we have received reports that you have offered tutoring services to several academy students in between missions. Is this true?"

'Eh…close enough.' "Yes sir, I have been assisting in the instruction of academy students Rock Lee and Naruto Uzumaki for some time now." The council then became furious.

"Why are you training that de- brat? It's a waste of time training him." demanded one member.

Another shouted, "I understand training your old friend's protégé but that little monster!"

"Why don't you train Sasuke? He could put what you teach to much better use than that freak."

At this Jack had had enough. "Because Mrs. Haruno, first, if Itachi wanted his brother to know what he taught me, he'd have taught Sasuke himself. Second, the boy is much too arrogant. You have all driven it into his head that he is elite, and now he expects the world handed to him on a silver platter. I have no respect for those who do not respect to value of hard, honest work. And third, Sasuke, the other clan heirs, and even your daughter already have help outside the academy from family and other sources. Naruto has been denied most help, so I help him. Lee lost Gai, so now I'm helping him as well. Moreover, you're part of the civilian council and really should not have a say in military affairs in the first place. Is there anything else we have to discuss?"

Danzo, a crippled old man with a bandaged right face continued, "There is the matter of which team you wish to instruct."

"What of it Danzo?"

"Address me as Danzo-sama."

"_If_ you _earn_ my respect, I may one day," Jack shot back. More than anyone else in that room, he could not stand Danzo. That old militaristic bat was always meddling in his affairs. Jack didn't know what he was planning, but his sixth sense told him Danzo was almost never up to anything good.

"Am I to assume this council is going to break with tradition and dictate to me who I am to teach if and when I become a jonin instructor?" Jack was doing his best to remain calm, but these politicians were making that more difficult with each passing moment.

"Troublesome civilians," grumbled one Shikaku Nara. "He's right you know. He's just helping the two that need it most and, it's not your place to say he can't." Shikaku had already heard about Jack's helping Lee and Naruto from Shikamaru and was glad there was someone who didn't seem to care about the "troublesome" time he was getting as a result.

"I concur with the Nara-san. Why? Because those two could be beneficial to this village if trained properly. Sasuke already has all the mentors and special treatment he needs at this time," Shibi Aburame added in. Like his son Shino, Shibi preferred looking at things from a logical standpoint and thinking things through before drawing conclusions.

"I'm with Shikaku on this too. Those two have no reason to be denied proper help. Frankly, Naruto has not caused my clan any problems aside from an occasional humorous prank. If Jack here wants to help them, then at least he is saving us the trouble of finding someone to train them," said Chouza, putting in his two cents.

Unfortunately, this did little to stop the bantering of the civilian council. Jack was growing more upset by the second while he tried thinking of a way to get this council off his back. Then an idea came to him that was risky but just might work. "So this council would request that I train Sasuke as his jonin instructor I assume?" He received numerous nods, mostly from the civilian council.

"We are not requesting. We are-"

"Look Danzo-teme, while I am in the village I have clones studying in the library _every day_. I know Leaf Village law, and let me tell you; it is not within your jurisdiction to demand that of me," Jack shot back with venom in his tone. "Now if you're done ticking me off, I've been thinking. If and I heavily stress the word IF I had Sasuke as a student, he would still have to pass my test after graduating the academy, is it not so?" Again Jack received a chorus of nods. "Then I strongly advise against forcing Sasuke on me as a student. If what I've seen of his performance in academy is any indication, then he has _no_ hope of passing any test I choose." The civilian then erupted.

"You lie! If the elite Sasuke can't pass your test no one can!" shouted one council member.

"You're just making up excuses to not teach him!" shouted another.

Jack grinned inwardly. 'Hook, line, and sinker.' "Oh is that so? What if I made a wager with this council that I could choose three students in the same class that _could_ pass where Sasuke would fail?" He received several scoffs but continued. "My bet is this: let me get first choice on my students. If they fail, I teach Sasuke regardless of if he passes his jonin instructor's test or not." The civilians grinned thinking this was too easy. "But if my team _does _pass. This council will not trouble me or my students with regards to the Uchiha AGAIN."

Danzo was liking this proposal, since he saw the odds in his favor. "I think we could agree to that if it meets the Hokage's approval."

Sarutobi looked Jack dead in the eye and got the message that Jack knew what he was doing. "Very well Jack, your gambit will stand. May I ask which students you wish to train?"

"Academy students Rock Lee, Hinata Hyuuga, and Naruto Uzumaki. I believe these three have what Sasuke does not." The civilians then laughed.

"You're passing up the great Uchiha clan for a loser, a handicapped boy with no ninjutsu or genjutsu, and a timid little girl that hardly has the nerve to harm a fly!" asked a merchant head while roaring with laughter.

Jack then looked at him with all seriousness. "Then I suppose you have nothing to worry about. Do you?"

The man grinned. "Alright, you're on."

**~Half an hour later: the Hokage's office~**

"You realize what you've just done Jack?" Sarutobi asked.

"I know, but I meant what I said about the test I've come up with." He then briefly went over the details of his test. The old man chuckled and agreed that Jack's thinking was sound after all, but still warned that it was a risky move.

"At any rate Jack, that's not the reason I called you here. If you are to be Naruto's sensei, you should now know why the villagers hate him so much."

"He's like me," Jack cut in.

Once again the old man's eyes widened. "HOW DID YOU KNOW! THAT'S ONE OF THE BEST KEPT SECRETS IN THE VILLAGE!"

"Calm down old man. Now if you remember, I did my research at the library. I saw the date of the battle with the Kyuubi no Kitsune twelve years back. It's the same day as Naruto's birthday. Naruto's treatment indicates that he is a jinchuriki like me. Also, that cover story of yours where the fox died? BOGUS. The nine tailed fox is a beast of pure chakra. It wouldn't be killed so easily by a mere mortal; next thing down from that would be sealing and trapping it inside a newborn where it could do the village no harm. And given the boy's looks, I'd say he had the fox sealed inside him by none other than dear old dad. Given the leader the Fourth was said to be, he wouldn't ask anyone to give their child for the sealing if he couldn't seal it in his own son."

The Hokage was stunned. Not only had Jack figured out why Naruto was so hated on his own, he had also worked out who the boy's father was. "You realize that both of those facts are-"

"Top secret? I figured that too. If people knew who they boy's dad was: one, they'd spoil him rotten like the Uchiha. Two, his dad's enemies would start gunning for him. And if it were more widely known of Naruto's status as a jinchuriki there would be even _more_ people screaming for his blood." Sarutobi chuckled as there was little left to say on the matter. Jack then left to make preparations for the coming graduation.

'Well, you kids got a few months left. I just hope you can pass this thing and forgive me for the test I must put you through.'

As he walked down the road, he heard a familiar voice in his head. **"PUP, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND!"**

'Thanks for the vote of confidence Wolf…'

**"Setting that aside... If they fail, you will basically be that Uchiha brat's slave. You will be obligated to teach him everything you know at any time. And there's a good chance he'll find out about me being in here eventually. Once that happens, we are toast! Simply put, if those three fail, you'll have the devil to pay."**

'Then _pray_ that they _don't_ fail, you old demon.'

**"I resent that remark…."**

'I know Wolf, I know,' he chuckled while terminating the mental link. He then looked around to find he had wandered while conversing with the demon. "Great… NOW WHERE AM I!"

**Author: Well I am thoroughly enjoying this. Please read and review.**


	6. Chapter 5

**The Lone Wolf **

**Chapter 5**

**Naruto is not mine. This fanfiction is written by me but is based off of Misashi Kishimoto's series. Credit for all plot and characters derived from said series goes to him.**

**Now enjoy the story.**

Naruto entered the academy classroom; his face beaming. After the previous night's mishap, he had been permitted to graduate despite the fact that he failed the initial test. With Jack's help, his grades had improved, and he had become more proficient in various ninja skills. However, that blasted clone jutsu was always beyond him. Oddly enough though, it was the shadow clone jutsu (an advanced clone jutsu that produces solid clones rather than illusions) that aided him in assisting Iruka-sensei and allowed him to graduate. That infectious grin plastered to his face; he took his seat and let out a content sigh.

"Naruto, you know this meeting is just for those who graduated right? What are you doing here?" asked the bored, lazy voice of Shikamaru.

"Oh I'm a ninja. See?" the blond responded, pointing to his forehead protector.

"Great job Naruto! I hope I get to work with ya down the road!"

"Yeah that'd be pretty sweet Chouji!" Chouji grinned at his classmate and went to take his seat; giving him a friendly punch to the shoulder. Unfortunately Chouji still didn't know his own strength, so Naruto fell over on the guy sitting next to him, who happened to be the rookie of the year in his class; Sasuke Uchiha. What was _worse,_ Sasuke had turned to see what was going on. As a result, both were literally in each other's faces. Within a split second, both parties recoiled, gagging at the fact that they had just accidentally "kissed." It wasn't really a kiss, but it was still enough to get Sasuke's fan girls mad as bees in a destroyed hive. Then Naruto was verbally assaulted by a chorus of girls saying, "I was gonna be the one to give him his first kiss!" He also received a good smack to the head that sent him to the ground; courtesy of Sakura Haruno.

The fan girls then turned their rage on the accidental instigator: Chouji. "YOU CLUMSY TUB OF LARD! LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" shouted a fan girl. Naruto had grown up hated and despised, so he had grown used to people trying to tear _him _down. However Chouji was being struck at his weak point and Naruto knew it. Even if Chouji could not go out of his way to befriend him, Naruto knew Chouji had some respect for him. There was no way he would let this slide.

"HEY! LEAVE CHOUJI OUT OF THIS!" Naruto demanded. "IF YOU WANNA LAUGH AT ME, CALL ME NAMES, INSULT ME, OR USE ME AS YOUR PUNCHING BAG I DON'T CARE! HE WAS JUST BEING NICE AND YOU'RE ALL BEING NASTY TO HIM! HE DOESN'T DESERVE IT SO JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

The girls were about to argue with him when Iruka Umino arrived, saw the situation, and increased the size of his head by about five times before shouting, "THAT'S ENOUGH! TAKE YOUR SEATS OR YOU STAY ANOTHER YEAR!"

'For once, I am _saved_ by the big head jutsu,' Naruto thought. Usually, Iruka reserved that jutsu for him and his prankster antics.

Iruka then continued, "Now that everyone has settled down, I'd first like to congratulate you all on graduating the academy. As your academy sensei, my last job to do is to inform you of your squads and the jonin who will be teaching you." He went down the list for a while before reaching, "Squad 7 will be Neji Hyuuga, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Squad 8 will be Kiba Inuzuka, Tenten, and Shino Aburame. Your instructor will be Kurenai Yuhi. Squad 9 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuuga, and Rock Lee. Squad 10 will be Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Chouji Akimichi. Asuma Sarutobi is your sensei." The class then had various mental responses.

'I'm in the same squad as Naruto-kun.'

'YEAH! I'm on Shikamaru's team! I wonder if sensei likes barbecue… Hmm… I should probably treat Naruto to that sometime. It's not every day that someone stands up for me like that.'

'Oh man… I'm with that troublesome blond. Well Chouji's with me too so I guess it's not _al l _that bad'

'So I'm to be partnered with an Uchiha survivor huh? Perhaps it was fate that I failed Gai's test last year. Now I have the chance to show that the Hyuuga are the strongest in the Hidden Leaf.'

'Wait a minute, who is my sensei? Was Iruka-sensei making a mistake or simply being unyouthful in not disclosing such important information?'

Sasuke also realized what Lee did and spoke up. "Heh, so the dobe's team doesn't even get a sensei huh? How sad, but then, it'd just be a waste of time teaching a bunch of losers like them."

"And just how do you figure that I'm wasting my time?" asked a voice from directly behind. Everyone in the class was shocked at how suddenly he had appeared in the middle of the room. "It is not for you to decide who is on what team or whom I teach. Now squad 9, please meet me outside by the swings." Jack then turned back to the class and asked, "Which of you got Kakashi as your sensei?" He then tossed a deck of cards to Sakura who gave him an odd look. "You'll need those. Trust me on that," He chuckled as he left to join his students.

**~The academy playground~**

"Okay team this is my first time as a jonin instructor to a genin squad so for the moment, we'll just start by some simple introductions about ourselves. Now you already know my name is Jack. Hmm… what else should I talk about? I enjoy a good bowl of ramen from time to time," this 'like' earned him a "WOOT! RAMEN!" from Naruto. "Well I'm glad you appreciate. I also enjoy simple things like a board game or simply stopping to look around sometimes. I gotta tell ya, some sights around here are fantastic if you know where to look at them. Things I dislike: arrogance, people who judge others based on false information, and politicians I would say are at the top in that category. Oh yeah! One particularly arrogant punk I can't stand is that Sasuke."

Again Naruto voiced his approval.

"Ahh so I see you've joined the WHAT club Naruto," Jack chuckled.

"The what?"

"The WHAT club."

"What's the what club?"

"It's short for the We Hate Arrogant Temes club," The group then began roaring in laughter for a good minute before Jack continued, "My goals are to assist you in becoming fine shinobi, find out the real reason my senpai did something a while back, bring two murderers to justice, and keep a promise to an old friend. Now it's your turn Lee."

"I am Rock Lee. I enjoy training, beating personal records and..." he stopped short.

"I take it that you wearing Gai's style of outfit is your way of coping?" Lee simply nodded. Seeing the confusion in Naruto and Hinata's eyes, Jack clarified, "A while back, his former sensei and father figure went on a mission with me. I won't bore you with details, but Gai lost his life… please continue Lee."

"Yes sensei. I do not like those who would underestimate me for being unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu. That is why my dream is to become a splendid ninja even though I cannot use ninjutsu and genjutsu. I want to prove it to the whole world!"

"A fine goal Lee, and as your sensei, I will do what is in my power to help you reach that goal. Now on to you Hinata."

She fiddled with her fingers nervously. "I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga. I like flower pressing, cinnamon rolls, and…" She then glanced in Naruto's direction and started blushing. Jack understood and said nothing but motioned for her to continue. "I dislike when people are mean for no good reason. My dream is to become a strong leader for my clan, get rid of the caged-bird seal, and perhaps one day, get a certain someone to notice me."

"I see. I don't know much about Jyuuken, but I'll do what I can to help you too," he said, giving her a warm smile. "Okay kid, it's your turn."

Naruto's eye began twitching in annoyance 'Why does he have to call me that?' "I'm Naruto Uzumaki. I like instant ramen in a cup, Ichiraku ramen, and training. I hate the three minutes you have to wait for the ramen to be ready. I also think Sasuke's a jerk. I can't stand you calling me 'kid.' And my dream is to become the _greatest_ Hokage. That way people will stop treating me like nobody and start treating me like I'm somebody; somebody important. BELIEVE IT!"

"Okay Naruto. First, that's a high ambition you have, but I'm game. Second, I call you 'kid' as a title of endearment. It's kind of like how you address the Hokage as 'old man' or 'jiji.' Third, you don't have to worry about your credibility around me so do me a favor and don't… EVER… say that again…" Naruto chuckled nervously while scratching the back of this head. He then knew he had to give them a heads up of what would happen tomorrow. "Okay, now down to business. Lee I'm sure you already know this but…"

Lee's face then turned serious. "Tomorrow is our real test, right Jack-sensei?"

"What do ya mean REAL test? We've already graduated, so aren't we already ninjas?"

"W-well Lee and his team got sent back to the academy last year. Remember N-naruto-k-kun?"

"Your teammates are right. The graduation exam is merely a method of screening candidates for the genin exams. As Hinata mentioned, Lee attempted it last year and failed. As a result Gai sent his squad back to the academy."

"WHAT! SO IF WE GET MESS UP WE GET SENT BACK TO THE ACADEMY!"

"It could be worse. You could be dropped from the program entirely."

Naruto simply stared wide-eyed at Jack. This man had the power to rip his dream away from him as he saw fit. Sure Jack-sensei was a friend and all, but Naruto knew his friendship with Jack would get him nowhere if he failed. The guy liked him, but had to stay professional.

"I will see you tomorrow at training ground 15; 9 am. Lee, you may discuss your previous exam if you wish. Now before I go I'm going to give you a question to think on. I think it's only fair, as I am supposed to give you guys the hardest test I can come up with. The question is this: 'What is it that makes one genuinely strong?'" Jack then shunshinned out of sight.

Naruto and Hinata then turned to Lee. Who was remembering the mistakes of the past exam before opening his eyes with a determined look. "The last group I was in failed Gai-sensei's test because we failed to act as a team. These exams test teamwork, so if one of us fails, we all fail."

His teammates nodded, understanding that much. "Yeah we get it, but what was up with that question?" Naruto wondered aloud.

"I-I'm not sure. Perhaps the answer is was he wishes to see from us tomorrow."

"But I have already said these tests focus on teamwork."

Naruto thought a minute before pointing out, "If the test is on our teamwork, maybe the answer is teamwork? Or maybe the answer has something to do with teamwork?"

"T-that may be it N-naruto-kun. Jack-sensei told us that he had to make the test hard as he could, and that he chose us. So if he knew Lee would know about the teamwork requirement of this exam, he would have to test us on something specific otherwise, it would be too easy."

"Wow! You sure are smart Hinata!" The poor girl was almost ready to pass out at that, and would have were it not to the fact that they needed to focus on the task at hand.

"But what could that be?" Lee asked. "I showed my strength last year and failed because we did not show teamwork. Strength has little to do with teamwork." They all sighed with their heads down.

Naruto then said, "Well, I guess we'll just have to do our best tomorrow and hope for the best." The three then went their separate ways.

**~The next day: Training ground 15~**

"He's late," Naruto grumbled.

"I-it hasn't been that long Naruto," Hinata responded. They waited a few more minutes when she decided to activate her Byakugan to look around. "WATCH OUT!" she exclaimed. The group moved just in time to evade a number of kunai knives.

"That was very good Hinata. A ninja must be on guard at all times. Many ninja have died because they failed to remember this rule. You all thought on my little riddle?" The three nodded. "Then your test begins now. Show me that genuine strength and defeat me. But be warned; I will do everything I can to do the same to you. At this moment, I am not your friend or sensei but your enemy. And…BEGIN!" Jack shouted throwing down a number of smoke bombs to conceal his movements. 'Now to begin. Sorry guys, but I can't pull any punches for you on this one. Ninja art: alternate reality jutsu!'

**~With Lee ~**

When the smoke cleared Lee looked up to see Jack-sensei staring at him with Naruto and Hinata lying unconscious behind him. "Two down, one to go," he said with a cruel grin. "I warned you I wouldn't make this easy Lee. Now show me your true strength! Or perhaps you still feel too guilty about Gai?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Simple. Had he passed your squad last year, another would have gone with me on that mission back then. Your failure resulted in his death. If only you had been stronger…"

He may have been Lee's sensei, but he was not about to tolerate such talk from Jack. Letting his anger get the better of him, Lee charged in hoping to take him down immediately, only for him to evade every attack he attempted. 'Wait… this is just like what happened last time. I attacked Gai-sensei with no success and failed because…' Lee then ran straight for Naruto and Hinata-san to get them somewhere safer, so he could wake them up and enlist their assistance. After running with his comrades on each shoulder for a few minutes, Lee thought he had lost Jack for the moment and began reviving them.

Jack then appeared out of nowhere and attacked him, knocking him away from his friends. "Nice try Lee but what will you do now that I have them hostage?" He asked, extending his sword to Hinata's neck.

"You can only hold one hostage at a time with that sword sensei," he responded.

"You know something Lee? You're absolutely right." Jack-sensei then pulled out a kunai and threw it straight at Naruto. With a speed Lee did not even know he had, he raced for Naruto and stopped the kunai with his bare hands. The next thing he knew. Jack-sensei hit him in the neck

'I have failed again,' Lee thought as he went under.

**~With Hinata ~**

Hinata woke up in the woods not knowing how she had gotten there when she saw Naruto and Lee unconscious. She then noted Lee was holding a kunai in his bleeding hands. "Don't worry about them." Jack-sensei spoke from behind. "They're the least of your worries now." He then let out a cruel laugh that promised pain would soon follow. "Oh is the little Hyuuga princess scared? No less helpless than the time she was kidnapped at the age of three? Maybe Sasuke-teme was right. Maybe I _shouldn't_ be wasting my training weak people like you. Heck, I could probably kill Naruto right now, and you wouldn't be able to anything about it. But then again, I suppose he's such a loser that he'd die even if he _were _awake."

The young Hyuuga froze. For a moment she thought he was right, that she had not changed, that she was still helpless, and that she could do nothing to help Naruto-kun. They were going to fail because she was not strong enough. Naruto might die because she was not… strong…enough. Wait that was it! 'Sensei wasn't talking about the strength to beat any foe but the strength to protect people!' Hinata looked up activating her Byakugan. He made several approaches on my friends, but she got in his way each time jabbing at him with her Jyuuken. She wasn't able to do much damage, but she was at least managing to keep him at bay. The next thing she knew, Jack hit her at a pressure point before everything went dark.

**~With Naruto~**

Naruto woke up to see Lee's hands bleeding and Hinata passed out. He got up to his feet in a hurry 'cause he figured sensei was still around. Just like the Uzumaki thought, he was sitting nearby on a tree branch. "Glad to see you've woken up Naruto. I've already dealt with those two. How about I make a deal Naruto? You put up a decent fight, and we'll just say that you pass. Without these two I could spend more time training you and you could achieve your dream of becoming Hokage that much faster," he said.

"No, I'll wipe the floor with you and you'll pass all of us!" Naruto shouted back without hesitation.

"But why? If you do things the way I suggest I'd go easier on you to help to pass. If you insist on going this way, I won't hold anything back and you'll probably die. Would you really prefer death to letting your comrades go back to the academy for another year?"

He nodded his head right away. Naruto wanted to become Hokage but these two were friends of his. "Very well then, I hope you're ready for the end Naruto," Jack-sensei said in a dark voice while performing hand signs. All Naruto could do was stand there and brace himself for whatever move he was about to use on him. "KAI!"

**~General POV~**

Naruto, Lee, and Hinata woke up in the same clearing they had started the test in. Each frantically looked around for Jack, waiting for his next move. They then looked at each other and saw that none of them were hurt as they had been before. "Bushy-brow your hands sure healed quick!" Naruto remarked.

"That's because his hands were never actually harmed in the first place." The team the turned around, ready to face off against their sensei again. However, he simply smiled and said, "You guys can relax now. The test is over." He examined each of his students' faces and saw the disappointment of how they had failed. 'Might as well break the news to them,' he thought. "Each one of you…PASSES WITH FLYING COLORS! Well done."

Rock Lee was the first to get over the initial shock. "But sensei, none of us was able to defeat you."

"In all honesty, as this squad is now, you three have about an ice cube's chance in hell of taking me down. Each of you showed me what I wanted to see: the strength to protect your comrades; to care about others more than yourselves. Lee, I angered you during our fight, but you put that aside to see to your comrades' safety. Hinata, I made you doubt yourself, but you were able to push past that to protect your friends. Naruto, I offered you the easy way out. But instead of taking that road you chose the hard way so that your friends would at least have a chance, no matter _how_ small that chance was. Each of you proved to me that you are strong enough to become shinobi that will make this village proud." By this point everyone there was ecstatic. Jack then threw a small wad of cash and said, "Hey Naruto, take this and get some Ichiraku's on me. I got a few things to take care of, so I'll see you all back here tomorrow to start your training. Oh and guys? I'm sorry for putting you through that, but a number of people on the council don't think you guys would amount to anything. You've just proven one of the misconceptions wrong. You passed this test where Sasuke would fail. If he took this test he would probably give into his anger or simply take the easy way out that I offered Naruto."

They forgave Jack on the condition that he warn them about stuff like that in the future then headed off for that ramen. 'I Now to train these kids as best I can. But first, I think I'll report this to the Hokage. I can't _wait_ to see the looks on those council members' faces,' he thought with a huge grin glued to his face.

**~Half an hour later: the Hokage's office~**

Jack entered the old man's office and took a seat. "Well?" the old man asked.

"They all passed with flying colors Hokage-sama."

"Impossible! They must have cheated, or perhaps you went easy on them," councilman Homura demanded.

"I don't not believe so. First off, none of my students cheated. Each displayed the makings of fine shinobi that will put the well being of their comrades before their own anger, doubts, or personal agenda. Second, if you wish to throw around false accusations about me going about this unprofessionally, speak with my students. They will tell you I held little back in that test. I hit each of them where it hurt most and they made it through that," Jack responded. He then turned back to the Hokage. "Sir, I believe that my squad and I have won my gambit. I trust you will see to it that the terms are carried out." He then turned and left the office.

"It is as Jack says. His team has passed his test legitimately where Sasuke's arrogance would undoubtedly cause him to fail. The terms of his victory now apply. Jack and all members of squad 9 answer directly to me. Unless a direct violation of the law occurs, the council is not permitted to make any decisions on these individuals without the consent of the Hokage."

Jack walked outside. 'I may have had to put you kids through hell to do it, but now none of us have to worry about those politicians anymore.' He let out a satisfied chuckle. 'Hmm… 6 pm. I suppose I have some time for personal training before I turn in.'

**~Meanwhile at Ichiraku~**

Naruto, Rock Lee, and Hinata were each enjoying their bowls of ramen when Naruto stopped a moment to think. "What is wrong Naruto-kun?" Lee asked.

"Is it just me or did Jack-sensei seem depressed when he apologized?"

"M-maybe he was just ashamed of what he had done," Hinata offered.

"I do not think so Hinata-san. Naruto-kun and I have each learned under Jack-sensei for a while now. He occasionally does things he does not wish to because he must, but this time, it looked like a deeply rooted regret."

"I say we go see him to make sure he's okay," Naruto suggested.

**~Jack's apartment~**

"Guess he's not home. Hey Hinata, think you can use that eye jutsu of yours to find sensei?"

"I-i can try Naruto-kun. Byakugan!" Hinata then looked around to find Jack in an open field just standing there. "I found him," she said pointing to the nearby training field.

"Great job Hinata!" Naruto hugged her, and true to form, she passed out again. "Oh man…"

"Naruto-kun, since it was you that made Hinata-san pass out, it is you who shall carry her as we go to greet Jack-sensei," Lee ordered. Naruto groaned but did as instructed.

Jack was standing in the field thinking on the events of the day and decided it was time to get some training in before heading to bed. Now Jack certainly did exercises like the others, but for him, training went a step further than "mere warm-ups" as he called them. Placing his hands in a familiar hand sign he called out "Shadow clone jutsu!" Within moments the field was covered with several dozen duplicates of himself.

"You guys know what to do," Jack said. All the clones gave a brief salute before arming themselves with various weapons. The original then pulled out his trusty short sword and charged into the mob of clones.

His squad was on the hill above looking down at Jack's all out brawl. None of them understood why someone would make their own training so dangerous without anyone there in case something went wrong. Then they looked closer at the way Jack was moving. Every time a clone would move to strike Jack, he would move his body in such a way that he not only evaded the blow but could easily strike back in the same move. No movement was wasted. Even enemies coming at him from behind were stopped as Jack would block them, evade them, or use an enemy clone to take the hit instead. Within minutes, the several dozen clones that Jack had used for training were defeated. All that remained of them was the smoke that all shadow clones "poof" into when they are defeated. However, Jack only had a few minor cuts and scratches on him. "When sensei said we only had an ice cube's chance in hell of taking him down, he wasn't kidding," Naruto remarked; still in awe of the display of skill he had just witnessed. They were broken from this state of mind when they saw Jack fall flat on his back. "Sensei!" they called out and rushed to him.

"Relax guys I'm fine. I just overdid it. That alternate reality jutsu I used on you three earlier today drained more chakra than I thought. So when I created and beat that many clones I was left with very little energy."

"W-why would you do something that dangerous as training sensei?" asked Hinata.

Jack responded with a question of his own. "Lee, do you remember how I angered you today? How I blamed Gai's death on your failure last year?" Lee nodded still not believing Jack could hit such a low blow. "The fact of the matter is I blame myself for that. I let my guard down thinking the enemy was dead, only to be caught off guard, injured, and knocked out of the fight. Gai went to help me, and he was injured, which played a good part in bringing about his demise. That is why I train like this. I never want to see a comrade suffer for my carelessness again. Now as I told you earlier strength comes from protecting others, from building others up. Skill comes in part from training and in part from experience. Fighting a massive number of clones looking to take me down is the most efficient method I have for adding to my battlefield experience without being in an actual combat situation."

"So is that why you seemed down earlier sensei? 'Cause you blamed Bushy-brow for your friend's death?" Naruto asked.

"That's right Naruto. I had a job to do in making that test hard as I could, but I should've found another way to anger Lee that did not cross the line I did. Speaking of which, I never told you guys the real reason I had to make that test hard did I?" The group shook their heads. "I made a bet with the village council a while back that you guys could pass a test the 'genius prodigy' Sasuke Uchiha would certainly fail. Since you won, the council is not permitted to mess with anyone on this team. More specifically, no demands can be made on Sasuke's behalf in any way."

"W-what would've happened if we failed sensei?" Hinata asked, afraid to hear the answer. If Jack got the council to agree to a bet like that then the consequences of losing _had_ to be terrible.

"I would have been forced to train their precious Uchiha regardless of if he passed his test or not."

"Over the past few years I've been in this village I have taken the opportunity to get to know a number of the people in your generation. While I was at that, I learned various things about people's character. So when I chose you three, I had no doubt your character would show in this exam."

The group was then stunned. The man that mere hours ago, seemed solely intent on bringing them down the entire time, in fact, put his complete trust in them the entire time. They could not think of many people _at all_ that would put that much trust in them. Lee was always looked down on for his handicap which limited him to taijutsu. Many thought he would never amount to anything. Only Gai and Jack had taken the time to assist in his training.

Hinata was the heiress of the Hyuuga clan, but many there looked down on her as she seemed unable to meet the clan's high expectations. Most sparing sessions she had back home resulted in her being injured and required medical treatment. Even her own father seemed to think that her younger sister might prove a better heiress to the clan. This was why she respected Naruto. He always made mistakes but never once gave up. When he failed he would pick himself up and try again. Now it seemed her sensei believed she could amount to something as well.

Naruto was always left alone. He had grown up hated and despised due to his being the Kyuubi jinchuriki. He could probably list the people he knew cared about him in a matter of seconds before the list ran dry. And here was his sensei; the man who saved him from certain death when they first met. He had been there to help him learn when no one else would. He believed in him. There was no doubt in Jack's mind that he could grow strong.

The group was blown away by all this and simply lay back to look at the stars "I know star-gazing is a relaxing activity, but you three need to head to bed. When I train you tomorrow, I am not planning on showing mercy" '3…2…1…'

"BYE SENSEI!" the genin shouted running home for rest.

Jack chuckled thinking, 'I probably get some sleep too.' He walked back to his apartment before freezing. The same images that he saw during his first meeting with Itachi returned, but this time he heard voices. _"Kill the monster!" "Please don't hurt me!" "Why are you doing this!" "I KNEW we couldn't trust that demon!" _When the voices finally quieted, Jack fell to his knees. 'Monster? Demon? If these are my memories then they were probably talking about me. But if they were pleading with me to stop and asking why then…' Jack's eye shot wide open as he realized. 'I did something. Maybe I should ask- no. Given the pleads for me to stop, there's a chance I was under the control of the wolf while doing those terrible things. I don't think I should trust the wolf on this; at least not for now.' Jack then went to bed for to try to get some sleep.

**Please review.**


	7. Chapter 6

**The Lone Wolf Chapter 6**

**Author: Hi guys! College life is busy as heck. Jack has no idea how hard it can be finding the time to write this.**

**Jack: Yeah umm… In part, you based me off of you, so in a manner of speaking I **_**am **_**you**.

**Author: Except you're not. You're just a figment of my imagination that I came up with. I can just as easily throw you away.**

**Jack: You know what? You're right. I'm not you. You **_**wish**_** you were me, because unlike you I am made of awesome.**

**Author: No, I don't think so. Your awesomeness is the byproduct of my awesomeness. You're just a shadow of being awesome.**

**Naruto: ALRIGHT ENOUGH ALREADY! LET'S JUST GET ON WITH THIS!**

**Both Author and Jack: *Yeah… he **_**definitely **_**swallowed a megaphone at birth***

**Author: *Clears throat* Right then. I do not own Naruto or anything directly related to said series. Jack on the other hand, was made up by me.**

**Jack: *eye twitch* …Jerk…**

**~Back with Arashi and his father~**

"Hey, what gives tou-san?" Arashi asked his father.

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you were going to tell me the story of the awesome warrior that used that old sword not some guy from Konoha and his students."

The man combed his fingers through his hair as he explained, "In order to understand the Lone Wolf's story, you need to understand the story behind the story as well as understand the people involved Arashi. Now where was I...?"

**~Forests of Konoha~**

Jack and his squad crept through the forest as they approached their target. Jack then asked via his radio headset, "Is everyone in position?"

"Lee at point A, ready Jack-sensei."

"Hinata a-at point B, I'm in position sensei."

A half minute passed before Jack finally heard. "Naruto at point C. Believe it sensei."

Jack rolled his eyes. 'How, many times do I have to tell him _not _to say that?' "You're slow Naruto. Hinata, can you see the target?"

"It's a-about ten meters on my left."

"GO!" Jack ordered. Hinata chased the target, which then ran the opposite direction. It turned to the left when it ran into Lee. Unfortunately, this was the squad's plan, as the target was intercepted and captured by Naruto.

"I GOT HIM!" shouted Naruto.

"Confirm that we have captured the target."

"The target has a ribbon tied to its right ear. This is undoubtedly the feudal lord's wife's pet cat Tora YOSH!" Lee confirmed. The cat then turned and began scratching up Naruto's face.

"I HATE CATS!" Jack then clutched his ear in pain at how loud Naruto was being over the headset.

**~The Hokage's Office~**

The feudal lord's wife was hugging Tora as the poor thing struggled to escape. 'Serves that stupid cat right.' Naruto thought. The lady then paid for the mission and left the office.

The Hokage then looked over a list of possible missions before Naruto asked, "Hey old man Hokage. Why do we have to keep doing these dumb chores?"

Sarutobi then sighed and rubbed his temples. He knew this complaint wouldn't be long in coming. "Naruto, let me go over the various ranks of missions with you for a moment. Because you and your squad are still relatively new as ninja you are assigned D rank missions. As you said, these missions are mostly 'chores' and simple errands to improve on a new squad's teamwork, as well as earn some additional income for the village. C ranks will occasionally send you on errands outside the walls of the village and may require fighting bandits and other people from time to time. However, you generally do not fight other shinobi. B and A rank assignments are reserved for veteran shinobi, as they will likely bring you into conflict with other ninja and carry heightened consequences if the mission should fail. Finally is the S rank class of missions. Only the best of a village's shinobi dare attempt these. The S basically stands for suicidal, as a number of people who undertake these assignments never return alive. Each class of mission is more difficult and brings in more money for the village. Because we do not want our shinobi to die needlessly, we have the practice of sending less experienced ninjas on lower level assignments." The Hokage looked at squad nine and realized he wasn't getting anywhere with this. He then turned to Jack and asked, "What do you think Jack?"

"With respect sir, my students have been progressing at a fairly decent rate. I believe they are ready for a more difficult assignment. The experience would likely help them learn more about shinobi work than mere training and simulated combat scenarios."

The Hokage thought a while and said, "Well I'm afraid the C rank I would have given you is currently taken, so I will give you the rest of the day off to train and prepare for your squad's first C rank."

"Thank you sir." Jack then instructed his squad, "I want all of you packed and ready to go at any time in case Hokage-sama gets a mission for us." Naruto, Lee, and Hinata nodded and went to pack.

The Hokage then invited Jack to stay and talk a while. "So how are they doing Jack?"

"Each of them has finished the tree walking exercise. Naruto and Hinata have also finished the water walking exercise. Lee is still working on it, but he is showing improvement. Lee's speed, strength, and skill in taijutsu seem to grow by the day. I have been helping Naruto with his chakra control and taijutsu, It's still somewhat basic, but much better than it used to be. His use of shadow clones has allowed him to utilize wind chakra well enough to be at about half of Asuma-san's level, I would reckon." This caught the Hokage off guard. Normally it should take someone a at least year or so to get to that level relative to his son's skill, but Jack had only been Naruto's official sensei for a few weeks. "Hinata has also been improving fairly well. Most of my work with her thus far has been helping her increase her chakra stores while trying to boost her confidence." Jack then thought to the day after he passed squad 9.

**~Flashback no Jutsu: 3 weeks ago~**

Jack approached the gates of the Hyuuga estate when he was stopped by a guard. "What is your business here?"

"I am here to speak with Hiashi-sama in regards to the instruction of his daughter as a leaf shinobi," Jack answered.

The guard gave a simple nod before instructing, "You may wait to see him in the foyer."

"Thank you," Jack responded as he entered the estate.

Jack waited in the foyer for roughly fifteen minutes before a branch member informed him, "Hiashi-sama will see you now." Jack then entered Hiashi's study

"Good morning Jack," Hiashi greeted in his usual formal tone. "I have been informed you are visiting with regards to my eldest child, Hinata."

"Yes Hiashi-sama, in accordance with your clan's traditions, I am here to ask for your leave to train Hinata Hyuuga."

"Do as you will. She has proven an unsuitable heiress to this clan. Her sister, who is five years her junior, can defeat her with minimal effort."

"I understand Lord Hiashi," Jack responded while rising to his feet. "But understand this; I would not have chosen Hinata as a student if I did not believe she could become something great. You say that she is weak, but I say she simply needs to find her strength. As her sensei, I intend to help her find that strength. Good day Hiashi-sama." Jack then walked out into the foyer and mentally sighed. 'I thought that was her listening in on us,' he thought. "Good morning Hinata. Are you ready to get to training?" She nodded, but it was obvious that her father's words hit her hard.

On the way to the training grounds, Jack decided to break the silence. "I suppose you heard my conversation with your father earlier?" She again nodded. "Well don't worry, I meant what I said before. I will do what I can do make sure that you grow strong. I want to make the members of this squad surprise everyone, but I need each of you to make sure you work together and get stronger. Can you do that?"

Hinata nodded with a shy grin. Even if her own father didn't believe in her, she knew she had people there for her anyway.

**~Flashback no Jutsu: Release~**

Jack then addressed his superior once more. "I realize the traditional method of selecting students is to arrange them, so that their grades in academy balance out to roughly the same average. However, I deliberately selected the underdogs. I don't believe they are as weak as most folks make them out to be."

The two spoke on the subject of Squad 9 a few minutes more before an Anbu entered the room. "Hokage-sama, Kakashi-sempai sends a message." He handed Sarutobi a scroll and left.

"What is it sir?"

"You claimed you were preparing your squad for combat situations?"

"Yes sir, why do you… they ran into trouble didn't they?"

"Jack, it seems you and your squad members get your wish. You and Squad 9 are to provide support in Tazuna's efforts to build a bridge in the Land of Waves. I know you could likely handle anything thrown your way given the training you've gone through, but as you say, the battlefield experience could do your students some good in furthering their careers as ninja."

"There's more to it than that isn't there sir?"

"Perceptive as always Jack," the old man chuckled before putting on a serious face. "Kakashi's squad has beaten the two former Mist ninja known as the Demon Brothers."

"And if they were there… their leader Zabuza is also probably in on this. Is that right sir?" Jack was beginning to understand why a professional jonin like Kakashi was calling for backup. Zabuza was a former Mist nin turned rogue after a failed coup de tat against his village's Mizukage. He had a reputation for annihilating multiple foes unseen before they even knew they what hit them. As a former member of the seven shinobi swordsman of the Mist, his skill with a blade combined with his mastery of the silent killing technique made him an enemy to be feared.

"Correct, that is the first reason I am sending you. Your ability to sense the enemy in most conditions should prove invaluable. Second is that your squad is the first that will be ready to go. And third, as you feared, some on the council do not believe your squad to be a worthwhile effort. I need you to lead your squad on a successful mission here so that I have a bit of leverage to put them in their place."

Jack nodded in understanding. He should have known those council members wouldn't simply give up after his previous gambit worked out. As it was now, he figured he had bought time and little else, but that would have to do for the time being. "Understood sir, but I have a question."

"Yes Jack?"

"My mission is to support in Squad 7's mission, but does that mean I must follow Kakashi's orders or simply ensure that the mission succeeds with few casualties as possible?"

The Hokage normally would have requested that such efforts be undertaken as a group, but he knew that Jack tended to do his best work at his own pace. Also, while Jack avoided having to train Sasuke or even having to deal with him, Kakashi was under the council's orders to see to it that Sasuke was well-trained as possible. If he placed Jack under Kakashi, he would have to follow Kakashi's orders; even if those orders involved training Sasuke during the mission. Given that Sarutobi wanted to avoid this loophole he answered, "You may act at your discretion on this assignment so long as you see to it that the mission is accomplished and casualties are minimized." Jack gave a brief solute before turning to leave.

**~Training ground 15~**

Lee was the first to arrive. He figured he would pack to travel light in case they needed to reach their destination quickly. Hinata was the next to arrive. She lacked the strength and stamina the others had, and did not want to slow the group down. As such, she also packed the bare essentials to keep her bag light. About ten minutes later, Naruto showed up. He packed a bit more than the other two, but his almost inhuman stamina would make up for that anyway. Then Jack arrived without a bag. He had stored everything he and the team might need in a small storage scroll.

The squad looked a bit down that their sensei was not packed, as that likely meant they had wasted their time and were just going to train anyway. Naruto then decided to break the silence. "So what are we going to train in today sensei?"

"Endurance building, tracking, and possibly a combat scenario." Jack took a moment to see the confused look on his students' faces before continuing with a slight smirk. "Now if you were paying attention to our previous meeting with the Hokage, Kakashi and Squad 7 were given a C rank mission earlier today. It seems they have run into more trouble than they bargained for. So our mission is to track them down, catch up with them, and provide support. During this assignment you will still follow my orders. If Kakashi's instructions conflict with mine, my orders take priority, understood?" The three nodded. "I'm not sure about everything that we may face, but if the Intel I've heard is any indication, this assignment is at least B rank, maybe A rank. That said I want you three on guard at all times."

The genin were not sure they were ready for this, but they knew their sensei would not have accepted this assignment if he didn't believe they could do it. Within minutes, Squad 9 was outside the village gates tracking their fellow leaf shinobi. After a few days of traveling, they came to a port near the land of waves.

"S-so how are w-we going to get over there sensei?" Hinata asked. She was getting a bit better at talking without her stutter, but it seemed to come back up also any time she got nervous.

"Why don't we just take one of those boats?" Naruto suggested while pointing to the docks.

"I'm going to have to say no for two reasons. First, we still need to catch up quickly. Now that Squad 7 is in the Land of Waves, whoever is after the client will begin attacking in earnest. Second, I'm looking closely at those ships, and I see a number of armed men that don't look like military or militia. My guess is that they're mercenaries hired to make sure that bridge doesn't get complete. Now I know each of you have been training with water walking, but to save on your chakra reserves…" Jack then made a pair of shadow clones. "It will prove much faster and easier if I carry each of you."

It took about fifteen minutes to cross the water separating the two miles between the island nation and the mainland. After taking a moment to rest, they continued tracking Squad 7. Before long they came to an area covered in Mist. At Jack's request, Hinata began scanning the area and found Squad 7 as well as a large man with an enormous sword strapped to his back that appeared to be on the attack. 'I was afraid of this…' Jack thought. 'Now from what Hinata says, Kakashi appears to be trapped in a water prison jutsu.' He then formed a plan before giving instructions to his squad. 'This could be interesting,' Jack thought with a smirk.

Moments later, Naruto appeared in Zabuza's line of sight. "HEY! TAKE THIS!" he screamed, throwing an abnormally large shuriken. '_This_ is the help we got?' thought Kakashi. 'You're supposed to catch your enemy off guard, not alert them to your presence…'

Zabuza caught the shuriken with his free hand. "A shuriken won't touch me you little brat." He then saw that another shuriken had been thrown in the shadow of the first. He jumped over the shuriken. "Nice try, but it's still not enough."

This was the chance Jack had been waiting for. He then ended his transform jutsu that disguised him as that second shuriken and rushed Zabuza. He formed the tiger seal and struck Zabuza in the back end. "Leaf Village secret finger jutsu: A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!" Zabuza was sent flying from the blast of chakra. As he was sent flying, his water prison jutsu failed, and Kakashi was released. 'He actually used that jutsu in a _combat_ situation? Almost any time I've ever heard of someone using that, it was just to get on someone's nerves or rob them of their dignity in a spar…' thought Kakashi.

Zabuza was fuming. It was bad enough that he had been caught off guard by a cheap trick like that, but he was now in intense pain because of a jutsu that he didn't think even existed. He had personally attacked people at virtually every vital point imaginable, but never once did he think a hit to his rear would hurt that much. He was broken from his thoughts when he was struck by a green blur. "LEAF HURRICANE!" Lee shouted while hitting Zabuza with a mid-air roundhouse kick. He was sent downward where Hinata was waiting for him. She struck him with her Jyuuken, causing mild internal damage.

"YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Zabuza had had enough of this and drew his sword to cleave Hinata in two. However, Naruto rushed in to hold his advance with his shadow clones while he got Hinata to safety. Jack then rushed in to deal another blow to Zabuza, but this time, Zabuza grabbed him by the wrist and threw him into a nearby tree. Before Zabuza could take his head, Jack dived down and hit Zabuza behind his knee with a kunai. He then had his own sword at Zabuza's neck. "It's over Zabuza. Now-" Jack never got to ask his question as two needles struck Zabuza in the neck. Jack leaned over to find that Zabuza did not have any pulse that he could detect at the time.

A young man with a Mist Village hunter nin Anbu mask emerged. "You were right. It was over." He then took Zabuza's body away. 'Something about this isn't right. He took the body. Standard procedure for hunter nins is to take the head of the target and destroy the rest so no other village's learn that body's secrets. And those weapons…' Jack then cursed himself for his stupidity. 'He wasn't finishing Zabuza. He was putting him in a death-like state to get him out of here. I wonder how many people have fallen for that trick?'

Both squads then regrouped. "What took you guys so long?" Kakashi asked.

"Okay. A few things delayed our getting you. First, standard procedure when calling for backup is to sit tight or slow your pace to allow reinforcements to catch up unless there is a visible, present threat to be fled from. Had you slowed your pace, we might have caught up before Zabuza's attack. Second, my squad was the first one available for the job. We were ready to go and traveled light, but we still had to take breaks a bit more than seasoned shinobi would. Third, when we arrived, you were already in a poor tactical position. I had to take a moment to come up with a plan to beat Zabuza with zero casualties."

"So Naruto running headlong into combat while screaming like a fool wearing a bright orange jumpsuit that screams 'KILL ME!' was a part of your plan too?" Kakashi asked sarcastically whilst giving one of his patented "eye-smiles."

Jack simply smirked at Kakashi's question before answering, "Precisely my friend. Naruto did exactly what I wanted him to." This statement caught _all_ of Squad 7 off guard. Running into combat like that was regarded as a one way street to getting yourself killed. Jack making up a plan like that made no sense to them. He then continued, "There are two ways to catch your opponent off their guard in a fight. The first, as I'm sure you all know, is to not let them see you coming. This method uses stealth to take the enemy unawares. The second method is what I refer to as the 'noise effect.' While the human mind is powerful in its ability to process information, it can only process so much information at any one point in time. In that sense, it's a bit like a computer. If you run too many programs at the same time, the computer tends to become sluggish in dealing with all those operations. In this case, I had Naruto grab Zabuza's attention while Lee and Hinata got into position. He was so busy focusing on the loudmouth in front of him that he didn't notice the rest of us preparing to strike until it was too late."

The group then decided to continue on its way to Tazuna's house when Jack stopped and closed his eyes. "What is it sensei?" asked Naruto.

'This could be trouble… I guess I'll just need to deal with it quickly. "You guys go on to the house. There's something I need to check out." The look Jack gave Kakashi told him something was up, but they were better off if most of the group stuck to the mission. Within a moment, Jack had vanished from sight.

**~The town Square ~**

When Jack first joined the Leaf Village, he wouldn't have known that it was his sixth sense kicking into gear, but since he'd gotten used to it, it was almost as though he got messages of important things happening around him. This one though had him a bit spooked. In most cases he would sense an enemy or attack. On some occasions he would get wind of needing to save someone's life, but this time, it felt much stronger. It was as though he would forever regret ignoring this. Jack entered the square and saw a man tied up to a cross, ready to be publicly executed. It was obvious that the man had already been beaten from the bruises on his arms and torso. Now it seemed these people were out to decapitate him. For a moment, Jack thought that this man was being punished for a crime, but his executioners didn't look right. They certainly didn't look like they were military or police force, given their informal dress, and he doubted that they were militiamen. That left two possibilities. One, these two were gang members in some kind of turf war. Two, they could be mercenaries, possibly working for the one out to kill his client. Given the mission, the second case was far more likely .Either way, he only saw one course of action: stop this.

The two had just started to swing when they were each stopped by someone grabbing them from behind. "What do you think you're doing!"

A third figure appeared between them so they could both see his face. "I used my shadow clones to stop you from executing this man. Now I want to know why you are trying to kill him."

"Gato told us to make an example of him," responded one of the thugs.

'I thought so. So this Gato is the man Tazuna is trying to stop with his bridge huh? If he's hiring mercs to deal with these people then denying him his trade monopoly of the ships around here with just a bridge is not gonna stop him… Perhaps I should send a more _direct_ message.' Jack then looked at the two with a grin and said, "Okay I'm going to give you two a choice. Either way you lose something. In the first case, you lose your interest in killing this man and leave these people alone. If not, you can suffer the same fate you had in store for this guy and lose your heads."

When the thugs did not answer, his expression turned cold. "Perhaps I was being too nice. I'm going to count to three. One." They started running fast as they could. "TWO!" They had gone from the square. Jack then went to pull a throwing knife from his storage scroll in case they got any smart ideas. "Three." The knife was in his hand, but it felt…waaayyyto flexible to be… a… RUBBER CHICKEN! "HAHAHAHA! REAL FUNNY NARUTO!" He then turned and threw the chicken at Naruto's nearby shadow clone in annoyance.

**~With Tazuna~**

Squads 7 and 9, less Jack, were a short distance away from Tazuna's house when Naruto started laughing uncontrollably. "W-what is it Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata, who was worried Naruto had been hit with a laughing drug of some form.

"Sen-HAHAHA! Looks like sensei found my little surprise for him," The blond managed to chuckle out.

Kakashi and Tazuna simply shrugged it off and entered the house. "Tsunami! Inari! Where are you two? That's strange. My daughter and grandson must be out."

**~Back in the Square~**

Jack got the man down from that cross. 'It's a good thing that I got here in time but… WHY DID THE KID HAVE TO GO AND DO THAT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY DEATH THREAT! O well, back to business I guess.' "Are you okay sir?"

He grimaced and responded, "Well, I've had better days, but I think I'll be okay." He then looked up to see Jack's face when he thought. 'Why is it that I get the feeling that I know this stranger? Guess I'll need to find out at some point.'

Jack was helping him get to his home when they were rushed by a woman and a young boy. "FATHER!" the boy shouted with tears running down his cheeks. "I thought I was gonna lose you there."

"I thought you were for a moment there too Inari," He replied.

The woman walked up and slapped him across the face. "Kaiza, why do you have to be so reckless? You know it would devastate Inari, father, and me if you got yourself killed. What were you thinking standing up to Gato's men alone like that!"

"I couldn't just let them push our village around. I admit I bit off more than I could chew on that one, but I couldn't just sit by and let them make our people suffer. I'd waited too long as it was. Either way, it's a good thing this young man showed up when he did, or we wouldn't even be _having_ this conversation," Kaiza replied with a smile.

The woman then turned to Jack. "I don't think I'd ever be able to thank you enough for saving my husband's life," she said with tears streaming down her face.

"It was nothing. I'm just here on a mission, and I sensed trouble. Anyway I'm glad I could help. I better catch up with Tazuna and the others before they start worrying about me."

"Grandfather is here?" asked Inari.

Kaiza simply grinned. "Well then why don't you just walk home with us? If your group is guarding my father-in-law, then you'll catch up with them as soon as we get home."

"Umm… Okay I guess."

"One question though."

"Yeah?"

"What was the deal with the rubber chicken?"

Jack chuckled. "It seems one of my students thought it funny to swap it with one of my throwing knives. I admit it _was_ funny, but if those goons had decided to stick around, it would have been rather… awkward." Kaiza was still sore from his ordeal, but he managed a weak chuckle.

**~Tazuna's House~**

"Don't worry Tazuna-san. I'm sure they're just out running errands or something. It's not like we told anyone when we'd be showing up or anything," the masked jonin said, giving another one of his eye-smiles.

Tazuna sighed and turned away from the window. "Well I suppose you're right. I'm just worried one of Gato's men might give them trouble."

"No worries old man! If they were in trouble, sensei could tell from a mile away and beat the living daylights out of em!" Naruto shouted.

"YOSH! Our youthful instructor would not allow such deeds to be committed." Lee added in.

"H-hai. Jack-sensei is a strict instructor, but he has a kind heart and makes sure others are okay before he even looks at himself. If he sensed trouble, I'm sure he would help them." Hinata said with a mild smile.

In a few minutes Kakashi got up. "Well if it'll make you feel better Tazuna-san, I'll go out and look for them."

"That won't be necessary Kakashi," said Jack as he entered with Kaiza, Tsunami, and Inari.

Tazuna was relieved to see that they had come home safely until he saw Kaiza's condition. "KAIZA! WHAT HAPPENED!"

"Apparently, he picked a fight with Gato's mercs and almost got himself killed," Jack responded.

"So this was the trouble you sensed?" prompted Kakashi.

"That's the way it seems. Anyway, since this town doesn't seem to have much in the way of medical care, let's get Kaiza here in bed so he can get some rest while I see to him." Tsunami nodded and helped her husband up the stairs.

"You know medical ninjutsu?" asked Sakura, hoping to add to her mental library of knowledge.

"I study in the library regularly Sakura. I was never instructed in how to properly use much medical jutsu. If I were to try healing him using a medical jutsu that would heal him quickly, it would be very easy for me to mess up and make the problem worse, but I know enough about first aid to where Kaiza's recovery should at least be a little more comfortable. But no worries, I know one basic med jutsu and made sure there was no internal bleeding. There are some places that will take a while to heal, but he'll be alright." Tazuna then sighed in relief.

"Oh and Naruto?" The blond turned to face Jack. "I'd like to talk to you later about your battlefield tactics." Most thought Jack was referring to Naruto's moves during the fight with Zabuza, but Naruto knew what he really meant: 'You messed with my gear. You're in trouble.' "Anyway… Kakashi, I'm sure you already know this but…"

"Zabuza is probably still alive? Yeah I know," the masked shinobi chimed in understanding the situation.

"But Kakashi-sensei, Jack-sensei checked for a pulse. His heart had stopped," Sakura countered.

"I am afraid that is not likely the case Sakura for a few reasons. First, standard operational procedure for hunter-nins is to dispose of the body on the spot. When a shinobi dies, their body still carries secrets like bloodline limit abilities or healing salves exclusive to the home village. To keep these secrets away from rival villages, hunter-nins completely dispose of the body _on the spot_ and waste no time on doing so. Secondly, did you note the weapon he used?"

Sasuke then pitched in. "They were senbon: throwing needles that medical nins more often use in surgery than in combat."

"And why would that be my young Uchiha?"

"Because unless you hit a vital point dead on, it doesn't do much damage."

"Yes and hunter-nins study the human body extensively. They know what points would mean instant death or put the target in a death-like state. Neji, your use of Byakugan has given you an extensive knowledge of how the body works yes?" He nodded. "Then tell me, where did our hunter-nin hit Zabuza?"

"He hit him in… the…" It then dawned on Neji as well. "He hit Zabuza in the pressure points in his neck. Using needles like that would have made it seem that Zabuza had died."

"So the hunter-nin was actually helping Zabuza?" asked Lee.

"That is a likely scenario Lee," responded Jack.

Tazuna had a somewhat skeptical look. "Don't you think you're reading a bit much into this? He looked pretty dead to me."

Jack sighed and replied. "Underestimating your enemy is the fastest way to an early grave in the ninja world Tazuna-san. I know there is a chance that I _am_ reading too much into this as you say, but I would rather not risk it. I've already lost one comrade because I assumed the enemy to be dead before confirming it, and I don't intend to repeat that experience _any_ time soon. At any rate, if Zabuza is still alive, then it will take him roughly a week before he is at 100% again. So I recommend we put that time to good use. Tazuna, I suggest you make as much headway on that bridge as you can this week, but for now we should rest up."

"Hey! This is our mission! You can't just butt in and-" Sakura was about to continue when Neji cut her off. "Silence! Jack-sensei came here under direct orders from the Hokage. Even if I question the wisdom of him bringing those failures he calls students with him, he is an authority and going against his orders is insubordination."

'Yikes! I knew Sakura had a mouth, but that's borderline banshee right there…' Jack thought. "First Neji, you are correct in that I have been ordered here by the Hokage. It is not uncommon in the ninja world to have one group start a mission and have another group take over halfway in. However, in this case, my squad is here on a related but separate mission. We are here as a supporting force to ensure the success of your mission with the fewest casualties. Second, I command my squad. Kakashi commands yours. I am not barging in and barking orders at you. That's Kakashi's job. I'm merely making a recommendation. Third, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from referring to my students as failures." Jack was extremely annoyed with Neji's comment. 'I have these three train till they're about ready to pass out. I give any guidance and assistance I can to ensure they grow into fine shinobi. As far as the information my shadow clones have gathered on other teams go, this is the fastest growing team of their peers. Call them failures if you want Neji, but if you don't shape up, your arrogance will prove to be your downfall one day when these guys surpass you and make you look like a joke.'

After a quick supper the squads turned in, but Jack stayed up to keep watch. Even though they were at the client's house, Jack knew they needed to be ready for an attack at any time. He stood just outside enjoying the cool night air while looking out to the sea. He no idea why, but Jack found the crashing of waves against the shore to be soothing. "I see you enjoy gazing out at the sea as well," said a voice walking up behind Jack.

"And I see you're out of bed when you should be on _bed rest_ right now Kaiza."

"If there's one thing I hate, it's not being able to do anything," Kaiza responded taking a seat next to Jack.

After a few minutes Jack told Kaiza, "You should get back to bed so you can heal up sooner." Kaiza then went back into the house for some sleep.

**~Elsewhere in the Land of Waves ~**

"I know I was in a bit of trouble back there, but why do you have to aim for the pressure points in my neck every time?" Zabuza asked about the literal pain in the neck he was feeling from his partner's senbon. He had been humiliated in combat and was now on a bed recuperating from his partner's "assistance."

"The neck is the easiest way to knock you into a near death state while ensuring you can recover sooner rather than later." Their discussion was cut short when Gato and the pair of thugs Jack had chased off earlier entered.

Gato smirked at Zabuza's condition, knowing the man had failed. "Well well Zabuza, you look like something the cat dragged in. I'm not paying you to get kicked around. When I hire a ninja, I expect results."

"The old man hired his own leaf shinobi to watch his back. I almost had them when reinforcements showed up and caught me off guard. I'll be ready next time."

"Yes you will be. I've taken the liberty of hiring an ex-leaf shinobi to make sure you get the job done this time." Gato then turned and left Zabuza's hideout. 'Personally I hope you and those leaf ninja take each other out,' Gato thought. 'I won't have to pay you, and it'll save me the trouble of having you taken out.' He then headed for his estate to formulate his own plan of attack, in which he could win while paying the fewest people possible.

**Jack: Wow, I think this is your longest chapter yet. Trying to beat personal records?**

**Lee: The author is beating personal records! I must run around the village 1000 times on my index fingers to match this youthfulness! YOSH! *takes off***

**Author: Why is it I **_**just**_** don't feel like commenting on that?**

**Jack: Hey it came out of **_**your**_** head not mine. **

**Author …**

**Jack: Speaking of which, what the heck was up with the rubber chicken!**

**Author: I use my right to remain silent… for now.**

**Oh and by the way, I need reviews people! It usually helps me write if I know that people actually care about what I'm writing enough to actually respond to it.**


	8. Chapter 7

**The Lone Wolf Chapter 7**

**Author: I'm the awesome one here.**

**Jack: No I am.**

**Author: No I am.**

**Jack: No I am.**

**Author: No I am.**

**Jack: No I am.**

**Author: No you are.**

**Jack: No you are… Oh you've GOTTA be kidding me…**

**Naruto: *sighs* Anyway… The author doesn't own me or the series I'm in. Now on to the chapter.**

The night passed with little incident. Kakashi woke to find Jack alert as ever. "If you wanted to sleep, you could've just woken me to take the next watch you know."

"I know, but I did a bit of meditation to rest a bit while remaining alert to threats. Anyway, what are your plans for the day?"

"I thought we could train our squads a bit to better prepare for the battles ahead."

"And what would we be training our squads in pray tell?" Jack had shadow clones observe the other genin teams on occasion. Asuma's squad would train to master and further develop the previous generation's Ino-Shika-Cho formations. Kurenai's team would work on stealth, tracking, and trapping. However Kakashi's squad was a disaster. Neji would insist on training in Jyuuken alone. Kakashi would teach things to Sasuke whenever the little punk demanded it. And Sakura….Sakura remained the incurable fan girl. Given the opportunity, she would usually hover around her precious Sasuke rather than train. The most pitiful part of that was Sasuke showed no interest in her _whatsoever_. Jack couldn't necessarily blame Kakashi though. He knew that was the way those three were, and their patterns of behavior would not be easily changed.

Kakashi himself had spent years as a member of the Leaf's Anbu. In Anbu you worked together with your partners or you died. Teamwork was an expected trait of any in its ranks. Jack figured Kakashi had been in Anbu so long that he simply expected teamwork or had otherwise forgotten how to teach it. But again, the attitudes of his students wouldn't help that in the least either.

"I thought we would train them in tree climbing," Kakashi responded. 'He's kidding right?' Jack thought. 'I was under the impression that tree and wall climbing was supposed to be something you'd teach your students on day _one_.' Were the dynamics of his team really that bad that he wouldn't take the time to teach that fundamental of the ninja arts?

"Sorry, but I already have plans for my students. If you want, you go train your squad. We'll make sure Tazuna-san is looked after."

"Okay then." After a brief breakfast, Kakashi and Squad 7 left to go train. At that point, Jack turned to his own team.

"Okay Lee, I want you to help Tazuna with the bridge. The heavy lifting should help you with your strength and endurance training. Besides, Tazuna-san could probably use those strong arms of yours." Lee gave a quick salute. "Hinata, I'm gonna want you on the bridge keeping an eye open for trouble just in case. While you're at that I want you to practice those moves I showed you the other day. Also I want you to keep your Byakugan active for as long as possible to stretch your chakra reserves. Kid, you will patrol the area with your clones and keep an eye out for trouble. In the mean time, the real you will stay here in case Gato's men get any bright ideas to take someone here hostage."

"What about you sensei?'

"I'm going to have a look around. I'd rather find the enemy before they find _us_ again." His students nodded in understanding. Lee and Hinata left with Tazuna for the bridge. Naruto made a few dozen shadow clones to patrol the town before going back inside. Jack left to go track down where the enemy might be hiding.

**~Near the Bridge~**

Tazuna, Lee, and Hinata walked along the coast heading north towards the bridge in relative silence. Shortly before arriving, Tazuna asked, "So why aren't you training with the others? Shouldn't you be getting stronger for when you have to fight off Zabuza again?"

"Jack-sensei has instructed us to watch over you. So we will do it! In the mean time, I am to help in construction while Hinata watches for enemies approaching."

"So w-we are training Tazuna-san. We're just helping you out while we are at it."

"Well I appreciate the help. I've gotten word that a number of those working on this bridge are quitting for fear of what Gato will do to them." When they arrived they got straight to work for the day, hoping that all this effort would not be in vain.

**~In the Village~**

Naruto's shadow clones were jumping roof to roof looking for any sign of trouble. When he left the house, he expected to find thugs at every corner for him to turn into punching bags. He expected to save people from public executions like his sensei had yesterday. He expected to do something heroic that would make his sensei proud. Now that he was paying attention, the trouble he found was another kind entirely. The buildings were in a sorry state of disrepair; likely due to a lack of supplies to maintain them. The shops were virtually barren of either people or goods. And the people were in particularly rough shape. Some were covered with sores or bruises; possibly due to Gato's "demonstrations." A few looked like they were on the brink of starvation. If this was an island country, they probably got most of their food from fishing. With Gato controlling all boats in the area there wouldn't be anybody who _could_ get a reliable catch of fish. And almost every villager he saw had the same expression on their face: hopelessness.

'This is horrible,' the clone thought. He thought a moment on what he could do. Then he realized that he wouldn't need a ship to go fishing over the deeper waters. With that in mind the clone dispelled to inform the original of the village's status and his idea.

**~Back at Tazuna's House~**

Naruto raided the house's storage shed until he found the fishing equipment he was looking for. After creating a hundred shadow clones, he sent them out in groups of four to net up all the fish they could carry. This task done, he put the gear back where he found it, as all he needed was to duplicate the gear with his shadow clones.

**~The Woods Surrounding the Village~**

"MAN! All the mist around here is throwing off my sense of smell. It might as well have RAINED here!" Jack complained. He hadn't expected tracking Zabuza and his partner down to be easy, but their use or the area's mist to cover their scent was making it _very_ annoying trying to sniff them out.

**"I could help with that you know. All it would take is a bit of my chakra to your nose and we'd find them in no time."** Jack didn't like this. He had just learned that he had committed an atrocity using the wolf's power. He had learned from his studies that jinchuirikis forfeit control of the bodies when they use to much of their tenants powers at any one time. At this moment he _really _didn't want to deal with that problem. However he still needed to find his target.

"Fine Wolf, but only a little bit. I'd prefer to make my decisions without you trying to take over."

"**Fair enough pup. I've only given you a small amount of my chakra. Now go find your quarry."**

Within moments Jack was on the trail again. His sense of smell was indeed much stronger. He could even smell their current location. He leapt stealthily from tree to tree. Almost a quarter mile away, he heard a pair talking and decided to do a bit of eavesdropping.

Gato was walking alongside a Rain ninja he had just hired. "Take out the ninja and the old man first. The fight should leave Zabuza and his little tramp weak. After that, take them out. I'm a man of business, and I'm not happy when I don't get what I pay for. Make sure I don't have to pay for his failure, and you'll get that bonus we discussed."

The Rain nin responded, "Don't worry about that. That sword of his may be big as a man, but I doubt it could stand up to this." He held what appeared to be a bladeless sword until a crackling blade of electricity formed.

'What the heck is a Rain nin doing with the Second Hokage's sword? O wait, I've seen his face before. That's the traitor Aoi Rokusho. So Gato is gonna have him kill Zabuza and his partner just so he won't have to pay them. Well that's good and… bad. Anyway I think I have all the intel I need for the moment.' Jack then left quietly to share this information with Kakashi.

**~Tazuna's House: a few hours later~**

Jack was in the bathroom freshening up from his little scouting assignment while waiting for the others to return. He had just about finished washing his face. The right side of Jack's face was covered by the washcloth he was drying off with when he looked into the mirror and saw that the whites of his eyes were ever so slightly grayed. He removed the washcloth and stared intently at the reflection of his eyes. For an instant he saw his hair turn to a black mane. His skin was a dark gray. His teeth looked like that of a savage beast. His eyes looked like they did the day Gai was murdered. Only this time, they seemed to be filled with wrath and bloodlust. Jack shook his head and looked again. Aside from the slightly grayed eyes he was normal. 'Why is it I get the feeling that no amount of counseling will _ever _make this ok?' "Wolf what was that just then?" He asked via the mental link.

**"What are you talking about pup? You were cleaning up your face and staring at some dumb mirror. Seems rather stupid to me that you're getting worked up over it. Or is there someone I'm not aware of that you're trying to impress with that pretty face of yours?"**

"Never mind ya dumb demon…" 'He's up to something,' Jack thought. That wasn't just some illusion. It wasn't quite real, but it was obvious to Jack that somebody was messing with his head. 'Next thing I know, that Wolf will have them throwing me in the loony bin _just_ so he has an excuse for me to use his power and let him out to play.'

The door then opened, Naruto poked his head in. "Sensei, Hinata and Bushy-brow are back with the old man."

"Thanks kid. Tell your teammates to meet me out at that vacant lot down the road. I'll leave a few shadow clones here to be safe."

**~Empty lot with Squad 9~**

Jack had been sparring against his squad for a half hour. They were still a far cry from where he wanted them to be and even farther from where they could be potentially. However, as a team they were working together nicely. They still couldn't touch him, but they had improved to the point that he actually had to pay attention to accomplish that feat. "Okay, that's enough for now I think. Hey Naruto!"

"Yeah sensei?"

"You seemed a little winded during the session. I only told you to make a few dozen clones for scouting. With your chakra reserves that many wouldn't even _faze_ you. What did you make; a few _hundred_?"

Naruto realized he had been caught and nervously scratched the back of his head. "Well you told me to keep an eye out for trouble so after I saw how hungry some people were around here, I made an extra hundred to go fishing. And each of those hundred was doing water walking, so I didn't really get any chakra back when they dispersed."

"Ahh. Okay, that makes sense. Not only is that a reasonable excuse but also a commendable action Naruto. Good job there kid, but I've been meaning to ask about something else. When did you manage to swap out one of my throwing knives with a rubber chicken?"

"Remember when you were carrying us across the water?" Jack instantly deduced what happened. Naruto had removed the scroll, swapped the knife with the rubber chicken, and put it back while they were moving at high speeds _without_ him noticing!

"Kid I'll make you a ninja yet, but remember something for future reference please. DON'T MESS WITH MY STUFF LIKE THAT EVER AGAIN!" Naruto then had to take a few moments to find his footing again from the sound blast that hit him. "Anyway, gather around you three. I have something I was going to give you sooner, but we didn't really have the time before not to see if you were ready. After I first assessed your fighting styles, I had a friend make these to complement them." Jack pulled out an additional storage scroll he had kept hidden for this occasion. The first set of items was a set of metal rods bound together so they could be worn around the legs.

"Jack-sensei, I already have a set of weights."

"These weights are different Lee." He then removed a specific pair of rods from each one. "Some parts can be removed to be used ad nun chucks like Gai used to use." Lee's face then looked like a little kid's on Christmas morning. "They can also be joined to form a bo staff. I don't know much about nun chucks, but I can teach you a thing or two with a bo staff."

Next was a pair of bladed tonfa. "Hinata I've noticed that when you fight you tend to move your body to strike at weak points; much like water, your primary element, flows around solid objects and erodes them over time. In my experience with using tonfa, the strength of the wielder is not as important as their flexibility; an attribute you seem to excel in I might add. I also noted that your clan doesn't do much in the way of ranged combat."

"Yes s-sensei. We are usually only taught close combat with Jyuuken."

"I suppose that in itself is the Hyuuga clan's greatest weakness. Most Hyuuga believe the Jyuuken to be unbeatable. While that fighting style is admittedly powerful, it only does any good if they can engage in close quarters combat. When faced with an enemy that they cannot get close to, they are limited to defense until support arrives or the enemy finds their weakness," Jack explained pointing to the back of his neck.

'How does sensei know about that! The Byakugan's blind spot is one of our most guarded secrets! Then again I shouldn't be that surprised. Sensei has a habit of figuring things out.'

"To deal with that, you can twist the two tonfa together to form a bow that uses arrows of chakra. I'm curious what effects a Hyuuga using this would have on an enemy."

Finally, Jack showed a simple short sword much like the one he used. "Naruto, I'd like to train you in my own kenjutsu style if that's okay with you." Naruto was stunned once again by this man who had become his sensei. He knew that numerous people had approached Jack, begging him to teach them his style. He had flatly refused every request and bribe put forth to him. Now Jack was offering to teach him the very weapon jutsu he had kept to himself. "Hinata can make her own variation of Jyuuken with her flexibility. Rock Lee's speed and power makes him like a mini Gai and therefore better suited for Gouken style taijutsu. You on the other hand are a bit of a wild card. Your stamina and endurance are at what could be classified as nearly inhuman levels, and I am well aware that you didn't receive that much training in academy aside from the times I helped you. Moreover, I know how much you care about your comrades, so I'm going to trust you to not abuse this style. This sword is a simple one like the one I commonly use."

"Why bother giving it to the dobe? If the sword's really that good, it'd be better off in the hands of an Uchiha like me," said Sasuke walking up to the area.

"Yeah! Sasuke could use it better than that Naruto-baka!" shouted Sakura who was following Sasuke closely.

"For that matter why do you bother giving weapons to _any _of them? All the practice in the world is no match for natural born talent. Once a failure, always a failure," Neji added.

Both Jack and Kakashi sighed at this. Jack; because these three insulted his students to his face. Kakashi sighed because his team just didn't seem to learn. "Well Kakashi, it seems your team can do teamwork fairly well after all; at least when it comes to tearing down their own comrades. Okay first, Sakura, you being little more than a fangirl of emo-boy over there does no one any good. I'd suggest you either shape up and take your ninja career seriously soon or quit. An attitude like that will get you _and_ your comrades killed." Sakura looked down thinking 'THAT JERK! EVEN IF I CAN'T DO IT ALONE, SASUKE WILL SAVE ME! But… what if he's right? I couldn't do anything against Zabuza. If it weren't for Jack-sensei showing up when he did, we might not have made it through that…'

"Second of all, Neji, it is true that people's staring points differ. In some cases, their starting point is so high that they may be considered elite right off the bat. However it is also the case that people grow at differing rates. You can believe or ignore me, but in a few years, these three could very well surpass you. And you can't say you know they wouldn't because we're not at that point in time yet Neji. Sometimes you are stuck with the way things are. Other times, things can change if given the chance. I am aiming to give my squad that chance, and I refuse to believe my efforts are being wasted. As for you Sasuke, my answer is no."

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I mean, you are not my student, you have not earned my trust, and you will not have my blades or my instruction."

"Tch. Like your instruction is worth anything to me anyway."

"I wouldn't say that Sasuke," Kakashi stepped in. Realizing what would happen next, Jack thought, 'Oh no, just kill me now; get it over with quickly…' "Jack-san may not look it, but he is one of the strongest ninja in the village. He's also one of the few people I know who could match your brother in a spar-" Kakashi immediately stopped himself, but it was too late. The mere mention of Itachi got Sasuke going.

"Teach me."

"No."

"I demand that you teach me."

"And I strongly advise that you not bother asking again." Jack then turned and motioned to his team to return to Tazuna's house.

'How dare he ignore me?' Sasuke thought. "Well I guess I'll just have to wait until the council makes you."

Within an eye blink, Jack was in front of Sasuke giving him a glare that would make the tundra feel like a summer vacation. He was a fairly patient man, but this kid just didn't know when it was in his best interests to quit. "Get this straight Uchiha _punk_,' he spat. "First and foremost, the council no longer has the _right_ to command that. They've lost the right to even bring it up. Second, I handpicked each of my students. I am already teaching the ones I want to teach. Third, answer this: why is it that you want me to teach you?"

"I need power."

"And why do you need power?"

"So I can kill… him."

"'Him' who?"

"Itachi."

"So let me see if I understand this…you are requesting, no _demanding_, that I teach you everything I know so that you can kill your brother Itachi-senpai?"

"Yes." Sasuke finally thought he would get what he wanted. He was so wrapped up in that train of thought that he didn't even consider that his answer would actually be…

"Not a chance young man."

"What! Oh I get it. He was your senpai, so you're trying to keep that traitor safe!"

Jack's glare grew even colder if that was even possible. "Do not mistake my meaning Sasuke. If your brother comes around to cause trouble, I intend to be one of the _first_ present to stop him. The reason I refuse to train you is that your goal is revenge. Most people out for revenge only care about their revenge. Anyone that gets in the way is nothing more than an obstacle to be pushed aside or eliminated. Some people go so far as to betray their comrades for the sake of vengeance. Even if you do achieve that revenge, you will have nothing left aside from that accomplishment because you will have destroyed or pushed away just about everything else. So in the end you will have become the very monster you're trying to destroy. As long as revenge is your motivation, I will _never _teach you." Jack then left to join his students at the house.

The remainder of the evening went on with little incident until Inari demanded to know why the ninja were bothering. "You don't know what we've had to go through here. If dad was outnumbered and beaten, Gato will just do the same to you!"

Jack sighed as he again knew what was coming next. Within moments, Naruto's brash nature struck again "We don't know how _you_ suffered! You might be right about that, but don't think for a _minute _that we don't know what suffering is for other people! You have a family. You only have to miss _some_ meals. You have a roof over your head. And you only have _one_ guy to be afraid of. I promise you I've had it worse." He then excused himself from the dinner table and left the rest of his supper untouched. After that he didn't have much of an appetite anyway.

Jack then decided it was his time to speak. "Inari, every ninja who takes his or her job seriously knows that any mission could be his or her last. No one on my squad has any delusions that they are invincible. The fact is that only a small percentage of shinobi live to retirement. Just about all the others die in the line of duty, but that's our job. We take the risk others can't and give it our all to cheat death if we can."

After supper Jack pulled Kakashi aside to inform him of his findings that day. They then put together a plan that would work but still be flexible enough for the unexpected. Kakashi found a few bits of Jack's plan to be odd, but then his rescue from Zabuza wasn't exactly a textbook use of orthodox shinobi tactics either. After that Kakashi left for the roof to take the watch for the night. Jack went outside to lean against the outside wall and look at the sea when Lee and Hinata asked to join him. "Jack-sensei, when Naruto-san spoke at supper, it sounded almost as if Naruto didn't have those things."

"You're right Lee, he didn't." Jack then explained, "Naruto grew up an orphan. As far as I know, he doesn't have that many friends aside from us. The Hokage told me that he was thrown out of the orphanage at the age of five and homeless until he found him several months later. He was beaten severely and hadn't eaten in weeks from the looks of it. Heck, when I arrived in the Leaf, I first bumped into Naruto while he was running for his life from a mob."

The two knew Naruto was always alone, but never once did they even _dream_ his life had been that harsh. "W-why would they do s-such a thing to Naruto-kun?"

"I'm afraid I'm not allowed to talk about that, but if Naruto trusts you enough for that secret, he may tell you in time. Until then, I want you to respect Naruto's secret and leave it be for the time being." After this the three turned in and continued their routine for the week. While Tazuna worked on the bridge, squad 9 would go about their tasks. Squad 7 would go to train. After Tazuna returned home, Jack would have his squad practice with their new weapons.

**~Forest clearing outside the village~**

After a few days of this, Naruto opted to stay out late to continue practicing in the woods. He wound up training diligently until he passed out from both chakra exhaustion and just plain exhaustion. The next morning, Naruto woke up to a stranger nudging his shoulder "Hey, you'll catch cold if you sleep out here," the stranger said in a kind tone. Judging by the looks of him, he would have been around Naruto's age.

True to form, Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Eheheh… I was training late last night. I guess I overdid it again."

"So you're a ninja training to become stronger?"

"You bet!"

The young man chuckled at this. "Why do you train? You seem to be pretty strong to me."

"I'm not all that strong yet, I still got a long way to go."

The boy smiled. 'At least this one has the wisdom to know he still has work to do.' "Is there someone who is precious to you?"

Naruto then thought about the people who had come to accept him; the people he would throw himself in the line of fire for at the drop of a pin. Old man Hokage had always been there for him when he needed someone to talk to; like the grandfather he never had. He remembered Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku. While most shop and restaurant owners would throw him out, overcharge him, and/or give him bad goods, those two had always been willing to serve him with genuine smiles on their faces. They were happy to see him and he them. Jack-sensei was keeping an eye on him from the day they first met. He had taught him a fair deal, when most other academy senseis would prefer ignoring him or throwing him out of class. Jack never got frustrated when he messed up; simply helping him up and telling him to try again. Naruto wondered if that was what it was like to have a supportive father. Lee had always been an odd one in Naruto's eyes, but he always respected Lee. In fact the two had developed a friendly rivalry in which they would spar and find ways to help each other improve. It made him wonder if that was what it was like to have a brother. Hinata often stuttered and sometimes fainted whenever he was around, but she never once spoke ill of him. She had always encouraged him to do his best. When others would insult his underdeveloped skills, she would find him afterwards and remind him of the things he was good at. He never told her, but he would be forever grateful for it. He was known for stubbornly refusing to give up, but the truth is, he _would_ have if it wasn't for Hinata. He knew Hinata had been watching him all that time; even back in their early days of academy. Naruto wasn't as stupid as most people made him out to be. He knew Hinata had confidence issues, so for her sake, he pressed on with his training and never gave up. As a result they had both come out stronger for it. They still had a long way to go in becoming strong, but they and Lee would not be giving up on each other. As long as that remained, they would continue to grow.

The young man could see Naruto deep in thought. "I believe that you become genuinely strong when you are protecting those precious to you."

"Yeah I hear ya! Some to think of it, my sensei teaches my team the same thing."

"I'm glad your sensei understands that and teaches it to you and your team. Some ninja I've met don't care about anyone but themselves."

"Tell me about it," said Jack joining in. "Naruto, I understand you came out here to train, but you should get back to the client's house. Your teammates are worried about you." Naruto then panicked and bolted for the house, hoping he didn't worry his friends too much. Jack chuckled at this sight. "He's a good kid. He can be a knucklehead sometimes, but he's the first one on the squad to jump at the chance to help his friends." Jack then eyed the basket of herbs that the young man had been gathering. "Are those herbs for Zabuza?" The boy quickly stiffened. He had not brought any weapons. There was no water for him to use in this forest meadow, so he could not use his jutsus that well either. Moreover, he had seen how quickly this man had dealt with his master, Zabuza. As it was, he was caught off guard and at this man's mercy.

"What do you want?"

"First, I have a message for your master. I tracked you two down to your hideout Hunter-san. However before I could drop in, I overheard Gato talking with Aoi. Gato not only intends to neglect paying you; he is arranging to have him kill you and Zabuza."

'Should have known Gato was trying to cut us out when he hired that new guy…' "Why would you tell this to your enemies?"

"In the ninja world, one thing can be all it takes to make comrades out of enemies. From what I overheard, they won't make their move against you until you are weakened from your fight with us. Gato's plan is probably to wait for us to weaken or kill each other, then use a bunch of less expensive mercenaries to finish us off. After all, a missing nin's services cost far more than that of your standard merc."

"I will inform Zabuza-sama of this, but I would assume you have a plan of your own?"

Jack had actually been meaning to pay Zabuza a house call on this matter, but his protégé being here solved that issue. He tossed a scroll containing the plan of attack he had discussed with Kakashi. "That's what I know about the situation so far, as well as my plan on dealing with it while making sure neither you two nor my comrades get killed. Should Zabuza agree to the terms of this plan, the signal to Kakashi and I will be Zabuza surrounding us with water clones after the mist sets in. When each of us has a student quickly dispose of those clones, you will know that we are ready." Jack then turned and left to prepare for the fight to come.

**Naruto: What that's it?**

**Jack: Naruto, remember this move well. This is an author's deadliest attack: the UBER EVIL CLIFFHANGER JUTSU!**

**All other characters in the arc: NOOOOOOO!**

Well I'm starting to get more reviews, but keep them coming please!


	9. Chapter 8

**The Lone Wolf: Chapter 8**

**Man or Monster?**

**Author: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and-**

**Jack: Every time it's the same old thing dude. "I don't own this, that, or the other thing." Why don't you try something original for once?**

**Author: You want another boot to the head?**

**Jack: I'll keep it quiet…**

**~The Bridge: the next day~**

Tazuna arrived at the bridge with squads 7 and 9. However Naruto had once again overexerted himself the previous day, so he was back at the house sleeping in. Upon arriving, they found those working on the bridge lying unconscious. 'This is bad. I'd hoped we'd get here before they did. And right on cue… here comes Zabuza's hidden mist jutsu.' The visibility dropped as the mist grew thicker. "We know you're there Zabuza! Why don't you come out and face us?" Immediately they were surrounded by images of Zabuza 'Water clones huh? I guess they agree after all then.' Jack then gave Kakashi a nod that their plan was on before they said "They're all yours Lee/Sasuke." The clones were dispatched within seconds.

"Oh, so you could tell they were water clones? And you beat them so quickly. Looks like you've got a pair of rivals here Haku" said Zabuza; going along with the act. Aoi had not gone to the bridge with them, saying he had a surprise in store for the Leaf ninja. This only served to further the warning that the Rain nin would turn against them.

"So it would seem, Zabuza-san."

Jack and Kakashi looked around for any sign of Aoi, but he was nowhere to be seen. 'Was Jack wrong about there being another enemy, or does he have some nasty surprise in store for us?' thought Kakashi

'Where the heck is Aoi? I can't sense him anywhere. Either way, Zabuza and his little friend seem ready, so we better get this show on the road.' "Ok then, why don't you two deal with Haku over there?" Jack asked; referring to Sasuke and Lee. The two headed off to the side to meet their opponent. "Hinata, I have a feeling I'm going to need your eyes in this mist. Kakashi; keep your eye open for any more that pop up…"

"Sure thing Jack."

"What about us sensei?" asked Sakura.

Kakashi responded, "The rest of you will stick to our mission and guard Tazuna. If he dies, this mission is over."

**~Tazuna's house~**

"Inari! Come help make your father some breakfast," said Tsunami.

"I'll be right there!" he cried from the restroom he had been washing up in. As he headed downstairs, he heard the sound of something breaking and his mother screaming. The two that had attempted to kill his father just a week ago had returned and had his mother restrained. As they were on their way out, they turned to find Inari behind them in the kitchen door.

"Gato only told us to take the lady; I think I'll have a little fun carving up this brat," The first one said; drawing his sword.

"NO! I'll come quietly with you, just don't hurt him!" Tsunami pleaded.

"You're lucky your mom stood up for ya kid." The shorter of the two then knocked Inari unconscious to avoid being followed. Even if he was just a kid, they didn't want to risk him getting in the way. As the two thugs made their way to the bridge to make proper use of their hostage, Naruto awoke from the commotion and got up just in time to see the two leaving with their target. He wasted no time in jumping out of the window and landing a few meters behind the two.

"Hey guys!" The thugs turned around to see the crazy blond knucklehead. "Okay I know you guys are busy and wanna get this done quick, but before we get started, I just want to say… ?" Naruto shouted out faster than they could hear.

Of course, because they didn't understand a word of that, their immediate response was "What?"

"Okay you asked for it!" Not two seconds later, a pair of Naruto's shadow clones jumped out of the water on either side of the pier they were walking on and a roundhouse kicked their heads together; knocking them out instantly.

After ensuring everything was alright at the house, Naruto left a few shadow clones behind and raced to catch up with his comrades at the bridge.

**~Back at the bridge: with Haku, Lee, and Sasuke~**

Lee and Sasuke had been fighting fairly well against Haku until now. Every time Haku had an advantage over one, the other would step in to intervene. After about five minutes of fighting, Lee managed to land a Leaf Hurricane to Haku's face. It did not take long for the mask to break from the force of the kick. "I liked that mask…I suppose I'll have to take this seriously now. Secret Jutsu: Crystal Ice Mirrors!" Lee and Sasuke looked around to find themselves surrounded by mirrors. "I am sorry, but I must finish this quickly." He then seemed to melt into the mirrors before vanishing once more. When he reappeared, the two leaf genin before him had been turned to human pincushions. Because he needed to ensure he had chakra left, he made sure to hit them in nerves that would render them unconscious but allow them to recover soon enough.

**~With Jack and Zabuza~**

Jack looked over at the jutsu with confusion as to what it was, concern for the two inside, and oddly enough; humor. He looked back to Zabuza. "You're kidding me right? His ultimate jutsu is a twisted perversion of a messed up funhouse?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow. On the one hand, Zabuza wanted to forget the deal and kill him for insulting his apprentice. However now that he thought about it, it _did_ remind him of the halls of mirrors one might find in a funhouse, so he settled for an obvious attempt to slice Jack in half. Jack ducked below the blade, but slipped and fell back on the wet pavement. The former Mist nin grabbed Jack's ankle and threw him off the bridge; or rather, he _tried _to. The action prompted Hinata to close several chakra points on his left arm; crippling it temporarily. While Jack was flying through the air, He caught onto nearby pole with some ninja wire before swinging back and once more being in his opponent's face. Once again Zabuza went to cut the two, but as Hinata ducked in a spinning motion, she cut at the back of Zabuza's right leg with her tonfa; her chakra causing it to numb to a degree.

One might think that such a tactic of fighting a sword master head-on would be madness, but Jack knew the weak point of Zabuza's silent killing technique. In order to silently kill someone successfully, they can't know where you are. That feat is virtually impossible if the enemy stays close enough to ensure you can't get out of their sight. Oftentimes, the difference between madness and brilliance is determined by the aftermath of the decision. And so they continued their spar; waiting for their true target to arrive.

**~With Kakashi and Neji~**

Kakashi was not happy. Why was he not happy? He had not expected interference from Gozu and Meizu again. The Demon Brothers failed in their ambush before. This time however, they had planned for this fight and prepared themselves accordingly. On this occasion, they came with additional blades on the sides of their gauntlets; allowing for greater defense and offense. When one of them was in a tight spot, the other would be flung towards Kakashi to retaliate. Seeing his sensei having trouble, Neji joined the fray.

The two Leaf nin were taking care not to get caught in their chain as Kakashi did during their first meeting. Neji would try to get in close to block off their chakra, but quickly realized simply doing so would not provide enough of an advantage to make it worth it since they weren't using chakra in the fight to begin with. Harming their internal organs also proved to be a challenge since their blades were covered with poison. With no knowledge of how dangerous the poison might be, he could not find a safe opening.

Kakashi was fairing marginally better. As an ex-Anbu, he had trained for scenarios like this. After about ten minutes of evading their poisoned blades and kicking them back, he pulled out a scroll, smeared some blood on it, and closed it again before using it for a summoning jutsu. Moments later, Kakashi's ninja dogs had Gozu and Meizu pinned down. No longer in any position to put up a fight, the two missing mist nin stood down.

**~At the Far End of the Bridge~**

**(Warning: If you are squeamish when it comes to violence and gore… you may… wanna skip this part.)**

All fighting stopped when the combatants heard a tapping from the other end of the bridge. "Well well well Zabuza, not only did u make a mess of things _again,_ you look like a mess too," Gato addressed the former Mist shinobi. "It's probably just as well, since I wasn't planning on paying you anyway. You missing ninja cost a fair bit to pay for, so if I don't get what I pay for, I don't pay for it. Come to think of it these guys here cost me a fair bit as well, so if you could take out a few of these after I sic'em on ya, I'd appreciate it," Gato finished looking back at the small army he'd brought with him.

Zabuza attempted to charge Gato but fell on his sword for support due to his damaged leg giving out under him. Jack looked over and saw Zabuza's group was the more worn out of the two. "Zabuza, why don't you guys get out of here? Since you're not being paid, you got no reason to fight us anymore," he said with a wink.

"Hmmm… you make a valid point there. Haku! Gozu! Meizu! Fall back! We're outta here!" The four of them then disappeared in swirls of water.

Gato was upset that Zabuza didn't stick around. Now he would have to wait to finish him and watch his back for a sneak attack from the sword-wielding brute. Still; now there were a few less people in the way of his immediate goal: the death of Tazuna.

Gato knew the remaining ninja were still ready to fight if he needed to, but he also knew most missions for shinobi required a certain amount of money to pay for. It was how a hidden village got most of its funds to stay in operation. "I know for a fact that Tazuna doesn't have much to pay for the services of Konoha shinobi like yourselves, so why don't we make a bargain? All you have to do is walk away, and I'll pay you each three times the cost of your mission."

None of them were convinced. Gato had no intention of paying Zabuza, so why should they believe he would pay them? Jack then answered, "In the shinobi world, those who break the rules are considered scum. Your proposition would have us abandon the mission in favor of our own pocket books, but that is not the only reason I'll have to say 'no' for us. Tazuna and his family have become people I would consider friends. Even if this mission required me to hand them over to you, I would not. The reason is simple: those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum. I am not _about_ to stoop that low and neither will anyone on my team! Keep your blood money and get the hell outta here!"

"Why don't you try coming over here and making me leave then Leaf ninja?" Gato challenged. He smirked when Jack began charging. "Ah ah ah I wouldn't do that," he said, pointing to Jack's left. Jack stopped and turned to the new arrival on the bridge. He saw his own student Naruto being held hostage by Aoi with the Raijin at his neck. He held his sword ready, but made no moves to attack. He was not about to let another comrade die on his watch.

"Aoi Rokushō: former Konoha jonin, classification; missing nin, current affiliations; Amegakure no Sato (Village Hidden among Rain), wanted for treason, desertion of village, assault on fellow shinobi, and the theft of the Second Hokage's sword: Raijin. Did I miss anything?"

"No you seem to know your stuff pretty well 'second coming of the White Fang.' Now why don't you just drop your sword and let us deal with the old man. Once he's dealt with, you can be on your way."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM SENSEI! THEY ALREADY TRIED TO KIDNAP TAZUNA'S FAMILY! THERE'S NO WAY THEY'LL KEEP THEIR WORD!" Naruto shouted as he struggled in Aoi's grip only to have the blade closer to his neck. Jack knew his student was right in that he couldn't allow this to stand, but he could not risk Naruto's safety either. He then saw Naruto holding a small ball that he identified as a flash bomb. Naruto winked to Jack who immediately got the message. 'So the kid grabbed that from his pouch while he was struggling against Aoi. Aoi was too busy getting a hold of him to notice. Very clever Naruto. Are those idiot council members _sure_ I didn't get a genius on my team?' Jack thought and inwardly chuckled at the humor of it.

After pumping a minute amount of chakra into the bomb, Naruto dropped the bomb which exploded on impact with the ground. Jack and Naruto had closed their eyes to lessen the affects of the flash. Aoi's eyes on the other hand got the full brunt of the blast. Naruto then grabbed. The Rain ninja's wrist to move the sword away from his throat and jumped to do a reverse head butt into the traitor's nose. Freed from Aoi's grip, Naruto wasted no time in getting away from his former captor. A few moments later Aoi recovered enough to see clearly and charged to kill Naruto. As he prepared to bring his sword down on the boy, the Raijin clashed with the steel of Jack's own sword. "Mess with _my_ student? I don't think so."

Unfortunately Jack had underestimated just how powerful the Second Hokage's sword was. Before long, the Raijin had torn right through his sword; leaving him virtually unarmed with a bloodied right shoulder. At that point, Jack was simply doing what he could to evade and try to get a few hits in to little avail. Within a few minutes the lightning chakra of Aoi's sword had numbed his entire body. As Aoi Rokushō prepared to finish Jack off, Naruto jumped on him from behind attempting to cut his throat with a kunai, but the Rain ninja flipped the boy over his shoulder towards Jack. Once again, Naruto had fooled his opponent. While his right hand was holding the kunai Aoi was focused on, his left had placed and an exploding tag on his neck. Without giving any time for Rokushō to realize what had happened, Naruto set it off; blowing the traitor's head off in the process.

Unfortunately Naruto had also been injured by the blast. Jack could not see the extent of his student's injuries but knew the boy was hurt bad enough to be knocked unconscious. He picked Naruto up and brought him over to Hinata who was already looking through her things for the healing ointment she had made.

"Ahem! As touching as this, aren't you people forgetting something?" Gato taunted once more.

Jack had had enough. He removed his jonin vest to allow for freer movement while saying, "Hinata, watch over your comrades. I'm going hunting." He then stood there with eyes closed. His presence was as the calm before a raging storm. Even though he did not realize it, Jack's mind was descending into a state of malice colder than the darkest winter. He was angry, and out for blood.

Gato and his men began laughing. "Just you against all of these men! HA!" Jack said nothing in response. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Jack remained standing there for a few more moments before finally responding. "Words are wasted **on the DEAD!**" He opened his eyes to reveal those same cold orbs that appeared the day of Gai's death. His voice was hard and harsh as stone. The air about him grew frigid. The very light seemed to fade into darkness around him. His wounds mended themselves before the eyes of all present. He then began making hand signs for a jutsu of his own making.

**'Pup, you know that jutsu isn't ready yet. You still haven't managed to control it properly,'** the wolf warned in vain. Jack simply continued his preparations unabated until he cried out "Wind style: wind gauntlets jutsu!" Currents of refined wind chakra swirled around his fists and wrists. As the jutsu warmed up, the flow of chakra accelerated and sharpened to the point that his hands and forearms were now as deadly weapons as any blade. Suffice it to say that it was not merely Jack's enemies that were getting nervous at this sight.

Hinata was doing what she could to tend to Naruto and Lee, but was finding it difficult at the moment. She looked up to and admired her sensei, but in all blunt honesty; she was terrified of him right now. Her sensei was a kind, caring man that would do everything he could for the well-being of those he cared for. This man in front of her had an air of being cold, severe, and cruel. 'W-what's happening to you sensei?' Only one word could describe the horror in front of her: "monster."

Neji looked on with an impassive face, but inwardly he was about ready to pass out just to get away from the fearful man in front of him. 'This is the man that I took for a fool? Now here I am, and I feel like if I even breathe the wrong way, it could provoke him to take my head off! If I was fated to go on this blasted mission, I certainly hope I don't share in the fate he has in store for those people.'

Both Sakura and Tazuna were too terrified to even think straight. Each looked as though the slightest additional stimulus of fear would be sufficient to make them pass out.

Even the famed ninja veteran Kakashi Hatake was put off by this. He had been in war, seen friends and family die, and even assisted in holding of the dreaded Kyuubi to buy the Fourth Hokage precious time to seal the demon away, but this was different. Each time in the past he had faced people burning with rage and fury to extents that scared most people out of their wits, but this time the very warmth of his own blood seemed stolen away. 'I've heard that hell would never freeze over, but I'm not so sure anymore after looking at you Jack. I don't know what's going on, and somehow I don't think I _want _to, but that's not the only thing that seems out of place here. That jutsu looks like a wind version of my Raikiri (lightning blade), but it's covering both his arms. It's as though you took the already deadly blades of wind jutsu to another level. You certainly know how to surprise people Jack, but then again; so does your student.'

As for those on the opposite end of the bridge; they were holding their ground but scared out of their minds. **"I HAVE GIVEN YOU YOUR CHANCE TO LEAVE WITH YOUR LIVES, NOW PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKER!"** Jack then charged straight for the mob of mercenaries.

"T-TRIPLE PAY FOR THE ONE WHO BRINGS ME HIS HEAD!" Gato screamed to his men as he retreated to the rear. Within moments, Jack had crossed most of the bridge's length. Once he was within twelve feet of his enemies, he jumped straight at the mob using his forward momentum to carry him. The first man lunged his naginata at Jack in the hopes of killing him first for the additional reward. Jack caught the pole of the weapon with his left hand. He then used his right to destroy the pole, spin, and plunge the weapon's blade into his would-be assailant's neck. Then another mercenary stabbed him in the right arm only to find that arm's elbow delivering a sharp blow to his face before the left fist drove into his stomach. The wind chakra tore through several vital organs on its way through. Jack then grabbed that poor soul's ankle and swung him around to fend off other hired guns before launching him into a cluster of them. As if that was not enough, an explosive tag on the corpse went off, killing another dozen mercenaries. Jack leapt into the hole he made in the enemy forces before reverting to the style his students had seen him practicing on their first day. Some died upon their own weapons or on those of the other mercs. Others had simply been torn to pieces by Jack's jutsu. Within minutes, Gato's private army of some two hundred men had been decimated.

Jack then slowly approached his last enemy. His steps were slow and unsteady. His arms were bleeding heavily and felt like lead weights. Some of the men had managed to cut his arms since he had so weapon or shield to properly defend with, but his own jutsu had also taken a heavy toll. His control over the jutsu was wavering and the chakra that tore his enemies apart was beginning to cut at his arms causing his arms additional damage. "N-no! S-stay away!" Gato yelled in a pitiful attempt to preserve his life.

Jack then stopped, and for a moment Gato thought he was safe; for a _moment_. **"You oppress these people for your sick little monopoly. You try having a man publicly executed just to prove a point. You have one of MY students kidnapped to use as a BARGAINING CHIP. Then you have the AUDACITY to send these men against me to their deaths for WHAT! MONEY? Contrary to what you may think, money does not make the world go 'round. This time, your money won't save you. And money… will do you no good where YOU'RE going!"** Jack screamed as he prepared to finish it when-

"STOP!" came the cry of his two conscious students. For the first time, he turned around. Lee had woken up during the fighting and was leaning on Kakashi to stay on his feet. When he saw the fear in their eyes, he immediately realized what he was doing was something a monster would do. His jutsu powered down, but to ensure Gato couldn't try anything else, Jack smacked the wretched worm over the head; knocking him unconscious. He looked once more at his concerned students. 'Thanks guys,' he thought as he passed out from the loss of blood.

**~Jack's Mindscape~**

**(Ok the squeamish people can look now.)**

Jack rose to his feet in the all too familiar chill of his own mind. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me… What is it this time wolf? You know I hate this place."

**"Okay for starters, this is **_**your **_**mind remember? Hating this place means you hate your own-"**

"WHO ASKED FOR _YOUR_ THOUGHTS ON THAT!"

The wolf merely chuckled before continuing. **"Anyway… you technically did part of this to yourself. What did I tell you about that jutsu? You know that the**_** slightest**_** lapse in control causes the jutsu to damage you as well as your enemies. You slashed up your own wrists fool! You would never have lost consciousness if you had just listened to me! But it isn't all that bad I guess, after all you **_**did**_** kill them."**

Once more, Jack remained silent. This time, he simply looked down at his hands as the memories of those he killed on the bridge came flooding back to him. "I didn't just kill those people... I slaughtered them," he muttered to himself.

The wolf overheard and responded while roaring with laughter, **"And a glorious slaughter it was! I'd have only enjoyed that more if the enemies were more challenging or if I had been the one doing it myself! HAHAHAHA!"**

"Shut up! Here I'm sickened by the fact that I went and did that and you're reveling in their demise!"

**"EXACTLY! I'm a wolf demon. I LIVE for the hunt! I saw how angry you were at those people. Admit it. You **_**wanted**_** to see those fools suffer for what they did. You **_**wanted **_**to see them die a painful death. You cannot deny to me that you did not enjoy hunting them down and bathing in their blood!"**

'He's right about one thing. I did enjoy that to a degree. Grrrr great… I got a demon inside me. I killed a bunch of people and actually managed to enjoy it. I don't know what to hate more: the fact that I killed all those people like I did or the fact that I actually got a _thrill_ out of that. I guess I _am _a monster. But then… if I'm a monster, why do I hate myself over the whole matter? Does that mean I'm not a monster or just that even monsters have a sense of right and wrong? GAH! Seems I was right… NO amount of therapy is making this ok…" Jack then willed himself from his mindscape. Jack felt conflicted and this dreary environment was NOT helping.

**~ Tazuna's home~**

Jack slowly woke up to an empty room "Ugh… just how long have I been out?"

"Nearly two days, though I'm surprised you weren't out for another three at least after losing that much blood," responded Kakashi who was reading in the corner. "I won't ask what that was on the bridge. In fact I probably won't even mention that much about it in the mission report, but I would like to know where you hear the saying that 'those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum?'"

"Maito Gai told me it once shortly before he died and asked me to make sure my students lived by that rule," Jack responded. "I assume from the look in your eye that you knew someone who told _you_ those words?"

Kakashi nodded, staring up at the ceiling. "His name was Obito Uchiha. He was my teammate along with Rin Inuzuka and Minato-sensei. For the longest time I never took him seriously as a shinobi. He was an Uchiha without a Sharingan, which basically put him at the bottom of the heap. His skill in a fight was often moderate at best. He joked around too much and was late to virtually anything."

"You mean like you are now today?" Jack asked with a grin. Kakashi couldn't help but laugh at that.

"At any rate, I first heard that saying on my first mission as a jonin. After my father's suicide, I had been obsessed with doing things by the book. I always talked down on Obito saying that those who broke the rules were scum." Jack nodded in understanding. Kakashi's father, Sakumo Hatake, was the once-fabled White Fang of Konoha. On one mission, Sakumo opted to save his comrades at the cost of forsaking his mission. Before long, the failure of that mission hurt the Leaf Village and even those the White Fang saved cursed his name for it. In the end, Sakumo Hatake took his own life by means of seppuku (a form of ritualistic suicide by disembowelment).

"Part of the way into our mission, Rin was captured by enemy Rock ninja. I insisted on continuing with the mission, but Obito refused to leave Rin behind. I once again reminded him that those who broke the rules were considered scum in the shinobi world. He then told me the saying you heard: 'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are even worse than scum.' With that, Obito ran off without me to help Rin. After some hesitation, I decided to assist them. My time of arrival was fairly poor as my left eye was slashed out moments later. We managed to save Rin from the cave the Iwa nin had taken her to, but before we could get out one of them started a cave-in. Due to the fact that my left eye had been slashed out, I was blindsided by one of the falling rocks. While I was disoriented, a boulder nearly crushed me. Obito threw me out of the way, but was crushed under the boulder's weight himself. His last action was to give me his newly acquired Sharingan eye to replace the eye I lost," Kakashi said hunched over in his chair. Telling his story to another person was still as draining on him as it had ever been.

Thinking it better to give his fellow jonin some time to himself, Jack got dressed and headed downstairs quietly.

"Where is Naruto?" Jack asked before noting the saddened look of his students.

"He's t-training in the woods. He hasn't s-spoken a w-word since yesterday, and he's pushing himself too hard. We asked him to stop and rest but he just insists he needs to train more," Hinata said.

"I see," Jack said with his thumb and index finger on his chin. He suspected he knew what was wrong. As he headed for the door, he continued, "Well I'll have a word with him and see if I can't get him to take it easy for a bit."

**~Forest Clearing~**

Jack found Naruto in the woods he had been training in earlier that week. But this time, Naruto was not simply tired. He had been training to the point that his hands were bloody. Several trees in the clearing hand fist-sized holes in them. Had he been watching anyone else, Jack would have put a stop to this self-punishment immediately, but Jack knew Naruto all too well. This was how he worked out his frustrations. In the leaf he would train like this almost any time he failed a test or was humiliated.

Jack quietly waited by the tree a few more minutes before Naruto finally turned to see him. "Sensei you're up," Naruto said attempting to put on his cheery mask, failing miserably. His sensei knew him too well. He wasn't falling for it.

"Yes I'm up. The one I'm more worried about though is you. Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine. When Aoi-teme flipped me over, I was facing away from him, so my back took the brunt of it."

Jack leveled a stern gaze at Naruto. "That was not what I meant and you know it," he said, throwing all pretenses aside.

"What do you want me to say sensei!" Naruto screamed, finally snapping. "I let my guard down and got caught! You got hurt 'cause I screwed up! Then what do I do? I wind up blowing the teme's head right off his body and at the time it felt like what I was doing was perfectly normal! Maybe some of those teme's back home were right. Maybe I am just a *SMACK!*" Naruto never got to finish his sentence and was sent to the ground courtesy of a backhand from his sensei who glares at him with glassy eyes.

"Don't you EVER go talking like that again! YOU HEAR ME! Yes! You screwed up. Yes! We're gonna need some more work with you. And YES! You killed Aoi by blowing his head off. But you know something? As I recall I was numb and almost on my knees when you did that," Jack said walking toward his student and placing a hand on his shoulder before gracing Naruto with the warm smile that Naruto imagined a father would give his son to tell him "everything is ok."

"The fact of the matter, Naruto, is I was in trouble and you saved my life."

"But if it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been in that situation in the first place!" Naruto countered.

"So what? We're both alive. That just means we'll have to train you so that doesn't happen so easily in the future. And as for Aoi, I have heard it said that the first kill is always the hardest. At least you didn't have to see the look in his eyes when that explosive tag went off."

Several minutes passed in silence before Naruto asked, "Hey sensei. Do you remember your first kill?"

Jack was about to say he didn't due to his lack of memory when he found himself somewhere else. He saw himself in a labyrinth of rocks. He could smell the salt in the air and hear cries of gulls filing the air. Jack then bent down to take a handful of sand that made up the floor of this maze of rock when he saw some of the sand was red and turned to see what had been a pool of blood that had since been absorbed by the sand. Then, only for a second, he saw the body of a man whose heart had been pierced. He looked down and saw a bloodied kunai in his hand. In a state of shock, he staggered back before losing his balance and falling into a chasm.

Jack plummeted into the water below and tried to surface only to be pulled back under by a strong current. He tried channeling chakra to help him get out, but it was no use.

His chakra wouldn't mold.

His lungs felt like they were on fire and would explode soon from the strain of holding his breath for what seemed an eternity. Just as he was about to give up, his foot hit against a rock, which he used to push himself up for a much-needed breath. As Jack at last surfaced and managed to grab onto a wall, he turned to find himself in a vast cavern, very much like the one in his mindscape. The main difference was that the sun broke through in some areas of the ceiling; a few streaks of light in a sea of darkness.

Jack thought to himself a moment wondering where he was, but before he could think too long on it, the image turned to a blinding white light and he found himself back in the clearing looking into the sapphire eyes of his concerned student.

"Sensei, you ok? You've been out for a good ten minutes."

"Yeah I'm fine Naruto. Guess I wasn't as well-rested as I thought," Jack said while nervously rubbing the back of his head. "Don't worry about me though. Go back to the house and get some rest yourself. You've had Hinata and Lee worried sick about you. Go rest. I'll catch up in a bit."

Jack smiled as he watched his student walk off to the house before putting his professional face on. "So how did it go?" he asked seemingly to no one until Zabuza stepped into the clearing and walked up beside him.

"We managed to raid Gato's estate without much problem. The only one there that really gave us any trouble was an arm's dealer that had been waiting there to do business. He won't be using those toys of his again anytime soon though, not with a missing hand," the Mist nin replied.

"And the money?"

"After taking our cut, we put the rest in a few briefcases and put them in a cold storage room in town near the fish that seemed to have been caught recently."

Jack chuckled, knowing exactly who the fisherman in question was. He turned to his fellow swordsman. "Zabuza," he said smirking. "Are you in danger of becoming a good man?"

Zabuza turned to Jack and let out a hearty laugh. Well…hearty as could be expected from a man with a reputation for being a mass murdering psychopath. "Now don't go starting THAT rumor," he chuckled. "It's bad for business. Gotta keep up my reputation as the _demon _of the Hidden Mist after all. I'm just trying to raise money for the civil war in my country and help stop a real monster back home. Main reason I helped you was because I didn't want o save my country by bringing a country of innocents to ruin."

The gray-skinned man then turned to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard Jack call "Zabuza." The Mist Swordsman turned to Jack before seeing his hand extended to him. "Someday I may call on you for help again. A man is always in need of a good friend."

For once, Jack was graced with a genuine grin from Zabuza as he took his hand firmly and shook it saying "Truly."

With a single hand sign, the Mist ninja dispersed into a cloud of mist; leaving no trace of him. With that Jack turned back to the house to join the others.

**~The Bridge~**

A week had passed since Zabuza, Haku, and the baby panda, I mean uh... demon brothers left. The bridge was finished. Squads 7 and 9 were getting ready to depart. Kaiza had healed up well enough to be up and about and had gone with his family to see the ninja off.

"You'll come back and visit sometime won't you Naruto ni-san?" asked a teary eye Inari.

"Of course I will. I don't know when I'll be in the neighborhood next, but I'll be sure to drop by if I am," the blond responded.

With that Jack whispered something in Kaiza's ear before departing with his comrades.

"You know we still have to name the bridge," Tsunami pointed out.

"So we do… how about, 'The Super Great Bridge That Tazuna Built!'" asked the bridge builder. All present looked at him as though he'd grown an extra head. "No huh? Well I'm out of ideas."

"How about we call it 'The Great Naruto Bridge' instead?" Kaiza suggested.

"Name it after that kid? I know he helped on the mission, but why name the bridge after him and not another member of that group?" Tazuna asked.

"Well think about what this bridge means to us. In building it we stood against a giant like Gato to save our home. In the same way, Naruto stood against a jonin that had just kidnapped him to save his sensei. We wanted to bring supplies to our people over the bridge. I was just informed by his sensei that it was Naruto that caught all those fish for us so our people wouldn't starve. As far as I'm concerned, Even though Jack and the other Leaf ninja stopped Gato, Naruto was the one that showed us was a real hero looked like," Kaiza answered. The people thought about it for a few minutes before voicing their approval for the name.

"'The Great Naruto Bridge' it is then. Who knows? Maybe the boy who reminded us what a hero looks like will be famous around the world and people will come here to hear how his story started. Now wouldn't that be something?" ask Tazuna chuckling at the thought of the knuckleheaded genin becoming that famous.

**Author: Well, that wasn't a bad close to the Land of Waves arc.**

**Jack: True, but I think you forgot something.**

**Author: Oh yeah? What's that?**

**Jack: You didn't just use Naruto there.**

**Author: First you complain when I do a disclaimer, now you complain that I didn't do one. Make up your mind! *sighs* Anyways… yes I threw in a few quotes from other movies, series, games, etc. If you can figure out where they are, what they are, and where they're from; go get yourself a cookie. Hope you all enjoyed. Now humor me and REVIEW THIS CHAPTER!**


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